


In The Dark of the Night

by Purplepoctopus



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-02-28 04:14:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 46,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2718392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purplepoctopus/pseuds/Purplepoctopus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin is a normal sophomore in college, if normal means being Plegian royalty and the best friend of the Ylissian prince. Despite her attributes she fancies herself a normal student, studying calculus by day and getting sucked into elaborate schemes by night. Gaius is a slightly more average college sophomore, though with a shady past and a curious love for sweets. </p><p>-A series of classic college tales all occurring past midnight-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. October 13th, 3AM

**Author's Note:**

> Many of the tales told in this work are based on real-life events. However, they are fictionalized and no characters are based on real life people. Other events are completely works of fiction.

            3AM was an odd time to be awake on a Friday night. For one, most people had gone home for the weekend (one of the side effects of going to a notorious suitcase school.) If they were still around, they were either drunk or asleep. However, Robin was none of those things. Instead she was sitting in a study room, her eyes fluttering shut over a stack of thick textbooks.

            Her cell phone was lying on the other side of the table face down, though Robin was about to throw it at the wall. Between her roommate being a major creep and her father’s constant controlling text messages, she just wanted to scream. She was about to pack up for the night when her stomach growled loudly, making her frown.

            All of the fast food places in the area were closed for the night and her snack stash back in her room consisted of a pack of mints and a jar of mayo. Her options were raiding the vending machine _again_ or waiting until 5 when the local diner opened.

            Since Robin was tired after pouring over texts all night, she decided that the latter option would be better… until she stepped outside and took a whiff of the air. Normally the hallways smelled of bleachy carpet cleaner or the occasional breeze of stale weed, but that night they smelled like _baking cookies_.

            Curiosity came naturally to her—it was almost second nature. Plus where there was the smell of cookies, there usually were cookies (or someone with a very convincing and very illegal candle.) Sure enough when she rounded the corner, she found that the light in the communal kitchen was on.

            Robin hesitated for a moment before poking her head in, finding a ginger-haired boy sitting on one of the stools while idly scrolling on a laptop. He looked vaguely familiar, there was a chance that they shared a class together or lived in the same hallway or maybe—It took a second, but it clicked.

            She remembered the boy because he took the last of the banana pudding at the dining hall the Thursday before, and everyone on campus knew that the banana pudding was the only thing worth eating in that godforsaken place. Robin had called him a few unpleasant names, though he didn’t say anything back to her.

            Now she had two options. She was standing in the doorway looking at the boy she had cursed out for taking _pudding_ , and she could either introduce herself or leave before he noticed. Robin went to turn and escape, but he looked up at the last moment.

            His glance was full of snark and a slight giggle, though Robin was sure that she was as white as a sheet. They stared each other down for a few seconds, caught in the back and forth, before Robin eventually looked away. _Who even wears headbands like that? He’s probably some sort of free spirit hippie major._

            “Ah.” He said while clearing his throat. He shut the lid of his laptop and swerved the stool so that he was directly facing her, causing her palms to sweat. “Are you here to call me a… what was it? _Banana-fucking cocksucker_ again?”

            Robin’s face immediately turned bright red. Of course he remembered her. “While I admit that was a little… harsh…” All of the liquid had left her mouth and she knew she would start babbling straight nonsense quite soon.

            “And for the record, I have never done anything like that with a goat.” The boy shrugged and began idly looking at the timer on the microwave, but he didn’t look offended so much as expectant.

            “I just really wanted pudding.” Robin shrugged, and the boy shrugged back again. “It was a rough day.”

            “You always get like that when you’re hungry, Bubbles?” 

            “Bubbles?” Robin was confused now. She didn’t even know this kid’s name, he didn’t know her name, and he was already giving her a _nickname_?

            “You have such a bubbly personality, after all.” His tone was flat, without any hint of irony, and part of Robin kind of wanted to hit him in the face. As the timer was ticking down, the urge grew stronger and stronger.

            “Everything’s closed and my roommate is a stalker and I just want to eat something that doesn’t require a flavor packet.” Robin smacked herself in the forehead with the heel of her hand and turned away. She didn’t know this kid, this kid that had given her a nickname, and now she was telling him shit about her life. But then again, she had been told once that nothing good happens after 2AM. 

            “That’s why I’m here. I mean, my roommate isn’t a stalker. He’s okay. He’s a religious studies major.” Robin gave him a nod, but he turned away before she could say anything. “I’m Gaius, by the way.”

            “Robin.” She held out her hand, but he didn’t take it. Instead he began fiddling with a piece of cloth wrapped around his wrist, but she didn’t say anything about it. If the boy wore a headband, the cloth bracelet was nothing. 

            “You like cookies, Bubbles?” His chair had swerved again, so now he was facing her and looking at her like she was some sort of laboratory specimen. “I’m making chocolate chip.”

            “You could be making bear stew and I would probably scarf it down right now.” A small giggle followed her words, and for a moment she didn’t even mind that this boy—Gaius, was calling her _bubbles_ of all things.

            “Then you’re in the right place.” The last syllable of his sentence was interrupted by the timer going off, a shrill beep amongst the buzz of the fluorescent lights up above. Gaius hopped down off of his stool and slipped on an oven mitt, though he didn’t seem concerned about disabling the timer while he opened the door.

             Robin thought she was going to scream, as the sound was annoying and she was tired and hungry and _angry_ and alone with this stranger who took her pudding and could have poisoned the cookies for revenge. But even though he looked ridiculous, there was still something soft and welcoming about his face. Not poison-the-cookies material at all. 

            Her mouth was watering at just the sight of them, but when she reached out to grab one he swatted her hand away. “They need to cool! Unless you like burning yourself.” Gaius looked her up and down and gave a shrug. “I wouldn’t judge you if you were into that.” 

            “I’m _not_.” Robin huffed while she stared at the microwave, still trying to find out how to turn the blasted timer off before she bashed it in with her calculus book.

             “Nice accent you have there.” Gaius said as he finally disabled the godforsaken beeping. “What is it?” Robin immediately blushed, as she didn’t particularly think she _had_ an accent. The Ylissians were the ones that spoke strangely, not her.

             “Plegian mostly. But I lived in Chon’sin for a bit with my mother.” Robin sat down on the stool next to him, but kept staring at the cookies. She was at a point of hungry where she was contemplating just saying _fuck it_ and burning herself anyway. The melty, chocolatey goodness was too much to resist.

            “Should have guessed. You look Plegian.” 

            “I _look_ Plegian?” Robin had an eyebrow raised even though she was leaned over the counter, her head barely peeking above her crossed arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

             “You’ve got the vibe. What made you come from Plegia?”

            “Wanted to get away.” It was an honest answer. Her father had been getting more and more controlling and now it was too much to bear. Even here in Ylisse she was still having trouble shaking his influence. 

            “Get away from what, if you don’t mind my asking?” Even though there were cookies on the table he pulled a bright red Blow Pop from the pocket of his hoodie and popped the sweet into his mouth.

 _I_ do _mind_. She wanted to say. Robin was always a private person but with this pudding napper she couldn’t help but spill everything out. “My father.” 

            “Ah. Why didn’t you go back to Chon’sin with your mom, then?” It was a leading question. They both knew it. And again Robin just wanted to punch him in his smug, lollipop sucking face.

            “She’s dead.”

            “I’m sorry.” And there it was. Robin looked down at the ground for quite some time, trying to figure out what to say next. There was no need for him to be sorry, or it happened so long ago… but everything that she came up with was a lie. It still hurt her. And it hurt her every time her father tried to push her into the mold that he had created for her at birth. “Bubbles?” 

            “Yeah. Sorry. It’s late.” Robin sat up and blinked a few times, looking at this ridiculous boy sitting in front of her. He was quite good looking, actually, despite the headband and the flaming red hair and the way his lips were stained with cherry candy. It was an objective observation. She had to focus on her studies, not relationships, if she wanted to prove her father wrong.

            “Then why are you still up?” He was awaiting a response, but there were so many that she could give. She was hungry, her roommate was insane, she might have left her key in her other pants or something equally annoying. It was a combination of them all, and none at the same time.

            “Why are _you_?” Her tone was sharper than she intended, but he didn’t seem fazed by it. He shrugged again and looked over at the tray of cookies with a sigh.

            “Can’t a man bake cookies at three in the morning without being questioned?” He didn’t sound angry, his tone seemed more sarcastic than anything. “I couldn’t sleep.”

            “Join the club.” Robin reached over Gaius’ hand arm and plucked a cookie off of the baking sheet. It wasn’t graceful—not in the slightest. Half the cookie stuck to the pan and she had melted chocolate all over her fingers, but she was starving and her care level was at zero.

            “Advanced Calculus, 4th edition.” He read the title of her textbook out loud, the lollipop still in the corner of his mouth, while he took her damaged cookie half.

            “Yeah. I already had math credits from APs, but I felt weird without having a math class. I’m thinking about a math mino—“

            “No. Nope. Don’t say it. I _hate_ the whole name, major, hometown thing that _everyone_ does. It’s like listing your name, rank, and serial number. It’s robotic. I’d rather not know.”

            “You don’t want to know what people’s majors are?” Robin looked rather confused. In fact she was so nonplussed that she had half of her half of her cookie still in her hand, getting cold and crumbly in her grasp.

            “Gods, no.” Gaius had the smuggest grin on his face that she had ever seen, but she kind of understood where he was coming from. “Majors come with preconceived notions. Pre-meds are stuck up and boring. Elementary eds are in it for the Mrs. degree. Stereotype after stereotype. I’d rather form my own opinions.”

            “Fair enough.” Robin huffed and grabbed another cookie, though she wasn’t sure if she particularly liked them. They were almost cloyingly sweet, but he was offering them to her and she was starving so she wasn’t planning on being particularly picky. “But you asked me where I’m from.”

            “I asked about your _accent_. You supplied the other information.” He looked rather smug, or as smug as a freshman with a stupid headband and a stupider wrist band and a dumb lollipop and a shabby hoodie… Robin stopped her thoughts, getting into a territory that she wasn’t particularly comfortable with. 

            Before she could rebut, her phone began vibrating in the pouch pocket of her old and worn down sweatshirt. She planned to ignore it, but Gaius kept looking from her pants to her face and back again. “You gonna get that?” Robin opened her mouth, but resigned quickly.

            “Chrom?” She was quick and concerned, there was no time for greetings. If Chrom was calling her at nearly four now, there was obviously a problem. Gaius had an eyebrow raised and was mouthing the young prince’s name in a questioning manner. Yes, it was strange for a random Plegian transplant such as herself to be consorting with princes, but the guy had quickly become her best friend.

            “Robin. Hello.” There was silence on the other line and Robin quickly grew worried. Her palms began to sweat and her mouth was going dry, but after a long few seconds she could hear him again. “You’re still at school, right?”

            “Yeah.” Gaius was watching her as she made the call, and it was sort of strange. She shot him a glare and turned away to get a smidge of privacy, as she was sure something was incredibly wrong.

             “Maribelle and Lissa aren’t… and one of Lissa’s friends said that they saw someone slinking out of their room.”

            “That’s awful. Is anything missing?” Robin twirled a lock of her hair round and round her finger, letting it bunch up and tense around the digit while she awaited his response.

            “I don’t know. I would go check it out, but Olivia’s sick and I’m taking care of her.” He sighed heavily on the other end, and Robin could feel her own lungs mimicking the prince. “Can you go over and look?”

             “Yeah, I guess. Shouldn’t be hard. I’ll let you know what I find.” Robin gave a small smile though she knew that he couldn’t see it. Chrom was her best friend, taking her in when no one else would. She would probably give her life for him if she had to.

            “Thanks, Robin. You’re the best.”

             “I try. Bye, Chrom.” The prince gave his goodbyes and Robin hung up the phone, only to be met by Gaius chuckling in his seat. A few more cookies were gone, obviously eaten by the mischievous boy, and immediately she raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”

             “Nothing. I just didn’t take you for one of the bimbos that fawns over the prince.” He gave a shrug and went to reach for another cookie, but she slapped his hand before he could grab it. “Ow! What was that for?”

             “I’m not a _bimbo_.” Robin snapped, and Gaius pulled his hand away to rub at the tender and bright red skin. “And those girls are my _friends_.”

             “Fair enough.” Gaius gave her a shrug and looked over at the clock on the microwave. It was now nearly 4, and yet they were still sitting in the communal kitchen, nearly in pajamas, fighting over a prince and a few cookies. “What did he want?”

             “You’re very direct, aren’t you?” Robin rubbed her palms on her leggings and sighed. Yes, it was technically Maribelle and Lissa’s business, but it _was_ four in the morning and their building _was_ all the way across campus. “You mind taking a walk with me?”

             “A walk?”

             “Yeah. I need to check something out for a friend.” She leaned over the counter and began drawing swirls on the formica with her finger, her pastel pink hair spilling over the dark material of her hoodie. “And it’s still dark.”

             “Fair enough. Let me just grab some shoes.” She looked down to realize that he was wearing only tube socks on his feet, the toes the same gray color as his sweatpants were. He hopped off of his stool and motioned for Robin to follow him. She was surprised to find that his room was only a few down the hall from hers, though she had never seen him around. It was probably a matter of timing. Perhaps he was in classes when she was moving around the building and vice versa.

             “242? I’m 246.” Robin said, but Gaius didn’t reply. He slid his key into the lock and the door swung open, though he wasn’t being particularly quiet. The cookie sheet ended up on the counter with a bang, his door flew open with a crash. Robin could only imagine what a _nightmare_ his roommate was having right now.

             “Don’t worry.” He said, probably seeing the look on her face while he clomped around the room. “My roommate is gone for the weekend. Some church retreat thing.”

             “But the people downstairs?”

             “Assholes.” Gaius gave a small smirk and disappeared into his room. Her curiosity was piqued, and she poked her head in. There were clothes all over the floor, a few textbooks as well, and candy wrappers on top of the clothes. The walls were covered with posters for movies and bands and other things that Robin couldn’t quite identify. “You can come in, you know.”

             It took Robin a second to realize that she had been staring, but still she stood at the entrance and shifted her weight awkwardly from foot to foot. She had just met this kid, it was _definitely_ bootycall hour, and now he wanted her to come into his room. She liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, but still she didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. “I… I’m fine here.”

             “Suit yourself,” Gaius said with a shrug, “I’m not going to try anything funny. It’s just kind of weird for you to be standing there. But I understand.” He came back out with shoes and a jacket on, the ridiculous headband still flopping in his face. She wanted to ask him about it, but figured that it was best if she didn’t.

             “For all I know, you could be an axe murderer.” Robin gave a shrug and turned back towards the door to the suite, her hands shoved deep into the pocket of her hoodie. “Though, I guess it’s unlikely for us _both_ to be axe murderers.” She gave a sly wink and Gaius couldn’t help but crack a smile.

             “Good one, Bubbles. Need anything else before we head out?”

             “Na.” She was lying. She could use a jacket and putting away her textbooks might be nice, but her key was still MIA and despite the fact that her room was only a few doors down, she didn’t want to add any additional time to their trip.

             “Fair enough. So, where are we walking to?”

             “Smith.” Robin shoved her hands back into her pockets while Gaius fumbled for his key to lock the door behind him. She swore that she saw him twitch, like there was something wrong with the residence hall, but it disappeared only moments after she thought she saw it. “A few of my friends live there.”

             “Didn’t think you would make friends with the Smith type.” He raised an eyebrow at her as the lock finally clicked into place, and they began their journey out into the dark near-dawn air.

             “What happened to not forming stereotypes?” Robin raised an eyebrow and lightly bumped Gaius in the arm with her fist. He chuckled for a moment and shrugged, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.

             “You got me. But still. You’re studying advanced calculus, I can’t imagine you finding much in common with a girl living in Smith.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal another lollipop. He peeled off the wrapping and wadded it up before shoving it back in his coat pocket, Robin watching him intently. Gaius hesitated before slipping it into his mouth, but fuck it if Robin was going to judge him. He wasn’t bothered with petty shit like that.

             “They’re not _that_ bad.” Robin shoved her hands deeper into the pocket of her sweatshirt, now _definitely_ wishing she had grabbed a jacket from her room. The air was crisp in the way that 4AM in the Fall tended to be, but she just hadn’t expected it to be _this_ cold. “I mean. Some of them aren’t.” Smith Hall was an all-girls dorm, home to most of the campus’ Freshmen sorority girls. Many of the residents were often intoxicated or fawning over pumpkin spice lattes and monogrammed tea cozies. But, that wasn’t Robin’s business.

             “I’ve never been in.”

             “There’s nothing much to it.” Robin looked down the road, noticing that there was still a car zooming past them, even at this hour. “I’ve only been a few times myself, though.”

             “So, these friends of yours?”

             “Lissa and Maribelle. One is a Gamma Gamma Phi, the other is an Alpha Xi Lambda.” Gaius got quiet, probably because he was impressed with Robin being able to predict his question. “But, shouldn’t that fit in your philosophy considering majors?”

             “Majors are different. They can attract all types. Greeks… They pick from one cloth.” Robin could kind of see where he was coming from, but she still rather disagreed. Maribelle and Lissa were her friends (though it had taken a while for Maribelle to warm up to her) and despite their affiliations she thought they were amazing. And it opened up opportunities to go to some parties for the free booze.

            “Agree to disagree.” She said, and Gaius nodded. “Is that _another_ lollipop?” Gaius looked over at her with a confused expression, because to him his candy consumption wasn’t a big deal. He liked sweets—the high fructose corn syrups and artificial colors and flavors… it amazed him how a chemistry set could create something that tasted nothing like a real watermelon but was completely accepted to be watermelon flavored.

             “Yeah. Want one?” He was hoping that she wouldn’t say yes, as he wasn’t particularly fond of sharing his stash, but there was something about her that he enjoyed despite the fact that she had called him several creative and colorful names over pudding.

             “You don’t happen to have grape, do you?” She looked rather hopeful and Gaius almost lost his shit. _No one_ liked grape. It was the flavor you gave to the person that you hated the most. The flavor left in the bottom of the bag when all the good ones were gone.

             “Uh… Yeah, actually.” He stuck his hand in his pocket and dug around until he fished out a sweet with a bright purple wrapper. His hand extended out to her and Robin took it, noting the strange expression on his face as she unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth.

             “What? I _like_ grape.”

             “It tastes like cough syrup and broken dreams, Bubbles.” He was being so hyperbolic and dramatic that immediately Robin burst into a fit of laughter, so much so that her eyes were beginning to water.

             “It’s _grape_ not _cyanide_.” She dabbed at her eyes with the cuffs of her sweatshirt and looked over at Gaius. It was dark out, but it wasn’t so dark that she couldn’t see him. The remaining moonlight was hitting his face, highlighting the tiny baby freckles dappling his nose. She was quite enamored with them, though once she realized how much she had been staring her gaze averted to the sidewalk.

             Smith Hall was looming on the horizon, though a sudden sinking feeling hit Robin’s chest. She didn’t have access to the building in the first place, and towing a _boy_ along only made it worse. It was after hours, and all male visitors weren’t allowed in the building. Still Robin was smart, and before Gaius could even comment on it he could see the wheels turning in her head. Strategies and tactics whizzed through her brain, building plans and battles and a sharp strategy to get them through the building undetected.

             “Bubbles?”

             “Hush.” Robin slapped him in the arm and he began rubbing it even though she hadn’t hurt him. He just watched her, the stick of the grape lollipop hanging out of her mouth like an unlit cigarette. She was devastatingly beautiful with the twinkle and spark of an idea in her eye, even though her cheeks and ears were red and stinging from the cold and her hair was half out of its ponytail. There was something magical about the wee hours of the morning, when the only other people walking around were the early morning joggers. “There’s got to be a back door.”

             Gaius had zoned out, watching her think while they stood outside the building. The sound of her voice nearly scared him out of his skin, but he calmed down from the lack of sleep shock quite quickly. “There’s a fire escape.”

             “Fire escape, huh?” She was a little curious as to how he knew that, since he claimed to have never been over here, but she figured that he had assumed. After all it was an old and tall building. A fire escape would be necessary. “But how do we get up there?”

             “I’ll boost you up.” He said it so nonchalantly that Robin was almost sure that he was kidding. The rickety metal structure looked so daunting, so high up. She didn’t know if she would be able to reach the ladder even if she was standing on top of his head. “Come on, Bubbles. I won’t let you fall.”

             “I just met you tonight. The last interaction I had with you was when you stole the pudding. And you want me to climb up on you to break into a dorm?”

             “Yeah. That’s exactly it. Here.” He bent over and locked his fingers together to form a step for her, but she still looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a groan. It was a simple plan. He would boost her up and she would pull down the ladder so that they could climb up on their own. They’d make their way into the building via one of the windows. Someone was bound to have left their window unlocked…

             “You seem to know a lot about breaking into places.” Robin reluctantly steadied herself so that she would be prepared to climb on top of him, still nervous about what they were plotting.

             “I’ve been to juvie once or twice.” There it was. The thing about him that captivated Robin. He was so nonchalant and blunt and direct that she never knew if he was kidding or serious and he always kept her guessing. But the look on his face wasn’t one of someone who was kidding.

             “Oh.”

             “Yeah, well. You do what you have to.” He held his hands out again and raised an eyebrow, watching as Robin began awkwardly looking at the ground. “You gonna climb up or what?”

             “Yeah.” She nodded and walked over, gingerly placing her foot in his hands to give leverage for her to climb up onto his shoulders. It seemed like Robin’s entire college career had been based on making fast and strange friends, starting with Chrom finding her sleeping in the hallway and leading up to breaking into a building with Gaius. “So, Juvie, huh?” She had the oddest smirk on her face for someone asking about personal histories while perched on a practical stranger’s shoulders, flailing about trying to catch the ladder on the fire escape.

             “Yeah. Once when I was fifteen and again when I was seventeen. Can you stop crushing my head?” She didn’t realize how tightly she had clamped her legs around his skull, but she was scared of falling off and taking them both out. She loosened her grip, though she felt a lot less stable, and tried again to lift herself up enough to grab the bar.

             “What’d you do?”

             “Why do you want to get away from your father?” Gaius had a smug look on his face, as he had enough of Robin’s prying and was ready to do some of his own to hopefully shut her up. She put her hands down, though there wasn’t much room to place them except for on top of his head. Her fingers danced in his ginger locks while she fell silent, as she didn’t know what to say. Yeah, she had crossed a line but it was also 4:30 in the morning and they were _breaking and entering_.

             “He’s had this whole _destiny_ planned for me since _birth_. It’s suffocating.” Robin squeaked as she realized that she was _playing with his hair_ and she immediately searched for a way to rectify the situation. She panicked and slid his headband down his face so that it covered his eyes, which made him swat his hands up to fix it. The motion caused Robin to lose her balance and she nearly slipped off of him. One of his hands fixed his headband and the other flew to try to stabilize her, his palm landing on top of her breast without him actively trying to.

             “Oops.” He said, removing the hand while Robin fixed her position on his shoulders. “But what was that for?”

             “Uhhh.” Robin couldn’t think of anything quick or witty to say, so she just _didn’t_. “Don’t you want to ask me what this _destiny_ is?”

             “Not if you’re readily volunteering the information.” Gaius helped push Robin up a bit higher, until the ladder finally released with a squeak and a gross grinding sound. It slid down until it crashed to the ground, satisfying the pair. “All right, Bubbles. Come on down.” He helped her off of his shoulders and gave her a wink once her feet were firmly planted on the ground. Robin’s heart was racing but she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the boy or the fact that they were _breaking and entering_.

             “Fair enough. So, what did you do?” She tested the ladder on the first rung, and it held her weight even though it was old and rusted and probably covered in tetanus. When she accepted its stability, she began climbing up, waiting until she was halfway up to look down at Gaius who was meticulously trying to fix his hair and adjust the headband on his head.

             “Petty theft.” He shrugged and put his right foot on the bottom rung of the ladder, looking up at Robin. From his angle, he had a good view of her butt and while he didn’t want to admit that he was staring, he was.

             “What, like shoplifting?” Robin reached the deck of the escape and leaned over the railing, taking a look at the ground down below. It wasn’t very high up, but the whole thing was still kind of surreal.

             “I guess you could say that.” He popped up next to her and walked over to the window, taking a few seconds to see if he could jimmy it open.

             “Don’t break anything.”

             “Bubbles, do you really think I would break the window?” He had an eyebrow raised as he turned to her, one hand still pressed against the windowpane.

             “I don’t know, you did get sent to Juvie. Means you got caught.”

             “Only a few times.” He winked at her and a second later he was able to slide the window up to let them in. “Ladies first.” Robin rolled her eyes at him and walked over to the window, taking a second to assess the angle that she would need to be in to slide in comfortably. She put her hands in first, then pushed up until she was able to swing her left leg over the side. It was uncomfortable, but doable, and soon her right leg joined the left on the other side. She jumped a short distance to the floor, then turned around to look for Gaius.

             “You coming?”

             “Yeah. Whose room did you say we were going to?” He looked _strange_. Not like the confident and cool as a cucumber guy she had been hanging with before.

             “Princess Lissa’s?” Robin made it sound like it was obvious, but Gaius began to shift and stand awkwardly.

             “I think. I’ll wait for you out here.” She was confused by the sudden change of heart, but she shrugged and let it be. It wouldn’t take her long to check the room anyway. It was just down the hall and… There she saw that the door was cracked, but no one was home. Robin was cautious and curious as she snuck over and pushed it in, finding a few things knocked over like someone had been through them. “Hope Chrom is still awake…” Robin mumbled as she pulled out her phone.

             Of course, she got sent to voicemail. Olivia must have fallen asleep and Chrom probably took the opportunity to crash too. But she left a message and urged him to call her back. She just wished that she could lock the door behind her.

             When Robin returned to the fire escape, she found Gaius sitting there, flipping through his phone and sucking on yet another lollipop. She wanted to ask him how many cavities he developed annually, but she bit her tongue. “I’m back.”

             “Oh. Hey.” He slid the phone into his pocket and got to his feet, watching as Robin shifted uncomfortably. She was rubbing her hands up and down her arms to try to warm herself up, but it was pretty nippy outside. “You cold?”

             “Didn’t bring a jacket. It’s my fault, really.” She stepped over to where the ladder protruded from a hole in the grate and lowered herself onto the first rung. Still, Gaius looked at her and began shrugging off his jacket.

             “Here. It’s a long walk back.” He held the coat out to her, but she didn’t waver from her spot on the ladder.

             “I’m fine.”

             “Just take it, Bubbles.” Robin, not wanting to argue, huffed and pulled herself back onto the fire escape to put the jacket on over her thin sweatshirt. She stuck her tongue out at him before descending back down the ladder, with Gaius following her. This time she had a particularly nice view of his ass, though she quickly washed the thought from her head. She was here to study. Not to get involved with boys who went to Juvie.

             When her feet hit the ground, it was like a miracle. The ladder made her nervous and the fact that she wouldn’t have to climb on it again made her quite relieved. “What time is it?” she asked as she stuffed her hands into his jacket pockets, trying to keep her hands warm. They were filled with sweets and empty wrappers and other clutter, but it was better than freezing her fingers off.

             “Nearly five by now.” He said before taking out his phone to confirm his suspicion. “Five-oh-three, to be exact. Why?” Robin bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, trying to work up the courage to ask him to come to the diner with her. She didn’t want him to think it was a date. She just enjoyed spending time with him and she was hungry and didn’t want to sit alone in the diner at 5AM.

             “Rita’s is open now.” She said with a shrug, and Gaius nodded.

             “It is. They have good pancakes.” He was looking up at the sky, the sun starting to peek over the horizon though it was nowhere near being light out yet.

             “I’m more of a fan of waffles myself, but I’ll keep the pancakes in mind.” She paused, her hands still deep in his pockets and looking anywhere but at him. They had just broken into a building and now she was asking him to get breakfast with her. It sounded an awful lot like a date, and that was _not_ the impression she wanted to give him. “Maybe this morning?”

             “Are you asking if I want to come with you?”

             “I just don’t want to sit alone in a booth!” Robin responded, her tone sharp and defensive while her face was red and she was completely, utterly embarrassed.

             “And here I thought you enjoyed my company.” A sly smile—a true Cheshire Cat grin crept up on his face and Robin wanted to immediately sink into the ground and disappear.

             “I do. But I also want hashbrowns!” Robin finally turned to look at him, and he had the same smile on his face as he leaned effortlessly against the bleached red bricks of the wall. Gaius shrugged and plucked himself off, pulling his keys out of his pocket to dangle them from his fingers.

             “Let’s go then.”

             “Oh no.” Robin shook her head and marched ahead of him, turning around at the last second to walk backwards. She was facing him and trying to maneuver the sidewalk, but she was pretty good at it. Then again normally when she did it there was ne’er a pebble in sight, thanks to Frederick. “I’m driving.”

             “Is this because of Juvie?” Gaius asked, his arms folded across his chest as they walked. He had a slight scowl on his face and Robin immediately went red. “Because I’m a good driver.”

             “I just don’t really trust other people behind the wheel,” Robin shrugged, “It’s nothing personal.” She shoved her hand in her back pocket, glad that she at least had her car keys. She mentally made a note to _put them all on one ring_ but she knew the task would never get done. Gaius shrugged in response and sighed.

             “Very well. Just tell me you aren’t parked in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere.” Robin stopped in her tracks, taking a moment to let Gaius catch up to her. His coat was warm and comfy on her, though long. He had more height on her and his shoulders were broader, so the whole thing slumped around her like a socially acceptable outdoor blanket.

             “In the Gold lot, actually.” They weren’t that far away, though the look on Gaius’ face still gave her concern. “What?”

             “You live in Wessler, and you park all the way in Gold?” He was fidgeting with his wrist and for a moment Robin contemplated asking him what was wrong, but a tug in her gut kept her from it.

             “Last time I parked in Purple some asshole broke my tail light.” They were coming upon the entrance to the parking deck, and still Robin was ahead. She firmly grasped the door handle, though the steel was icy beneath her fingers. “Don’t want to chance it again.” Robin swung the door open and leaned against it, waiting until Gaius cleared the threshold before she followed suit.

             “Makes sense. Lots of dicks park in Purple.”

             “It’s because they all live in our building.” Robin gave an exasperated laugh, thinking about all the _shit_ she has seen in the residence hall in her two years of living there. Frisbee in the hallway, Valmese kids doing crossfit in the floor TV rooms, and one incident where a drunk girl who was aiming for Smith ended up busting her way into a half-asleep Robin’s room before proceeding to pass out on her couch. At least it was an interesting story to tell to the paramedics. There were others, though those stories were less interesting even if they were still incredibly annoying.

             “True. So, where are you parked?” Gaius was looking around while Robin was standing in front of her car. It was gorgeous and deep blue and new and shiny and _expensive_.

             “We’re here.” She said, an eyebrow raised as she climbed into the driver’s seat. She didn’t close the door behind her though, as Gaius was still staring. “ _What_?”

             “Didn’t think you would drive something like this, Bubbles.” He opened the door and slid in while Robin turned on the ignition, the whole thing buzzing to life quickly. Where a radio would normally be, Robin had a large touch display with a satellite radio tuned onto some indie station.

             “My father.” Robin knew her car was flashy, and to be honest it embarrassed her. It was bad enough that she was a Plegian transplant, but she didn’t want people to know that she was a _Royal_ Plegian transplant. She took a look back over her shoulder before backing out of the spot and zooming out of the lot.

             “Speaking of him, what’s your _destiny_?” Gaius rolled down his window, a gesture that made Robin frown. It was cold and the wind would blow her hair in her eyes, which was a huge _no_ for her while driving, but it made the music sound cool and she had to admit that the feeling of wind on her skin felt so liberating.

             “I’m supposed to be the human vessel for a fell dragon who’s planning on destroying humanity.” Robin deadpanned the line, her face flat with focus on the road and her tone grave and serious. Gaius stared at her for a moment, looking for hints or clues or something on her face that would give away that she was joking, but there was no waver in her expression. After a few seconds of side-eye contact at a red light, Robin cracked up and broke into a face-hurting smile. “You totally fell for that.”

             “Hey. You never know.” He was a little bit red in the cheeks and Robin thought it was hilarious and adorable and—she slammed on her breaks before accidentally blowing a stop sign, _again_. It was partially hidden behind a tree limb and to be fair it was in an odd spot on the road and…. Robin was making tons of excuses in her head as to why she had been distracted, trying to avoid the obvious one.

             “Bubbles, Jesus.” She looked over quickly to see that he was holding on to the armrests so tightly that his knuckles were burning white. Robin blushed, taking a second to make sure that the coast was clear before turning onto the road where the diner was.

             “Sorry. It’s a—“

             “A tricky one. Yeah. It’s a ticket trap. I don’t know anyone who _hasn’t_ blown that stop sign at least once.” He gave her a shrug and looked back out the window, the sun now hanging closer and closer to the horizon. She was singing along to the song on the radio, one that Gaius vaguely recognized but didn’t know enough to be able to sing along to. Still, it was nice sitting in the car with her while the early morning air tickled his face.

             “Yeah. Still. Bet that woke you up.” Robin chuckled to herself as she pulled into a parking spot in the diner’s lot. She knew she was probably parked crooked, but she was hungry and didn’t really give a shit. She was in the lines, and that was what counted. Gaius got out of the car first, an eyebrow raised as he looked at her car again, and Robin followed only seconds later.

             A bell tinkled as the crossed the threshold of the door into the diner. It was still pretty empty, filled with a few trucks and the usual crowd of late-night stoners who needed their French fry fix before sleeping the remainder of the day. _Sleep_. Robin felt her blinks get longer ever second while sitting at their table, and she was sure that she was going to fall asleep right then and there.

             “Bubbles…” For a moment Robin thought she was dreaming, but then she heard the voice again. “Bubbles!” She blinked awake to see the waitress standing there with her hip cocked out, her order pad out and ready for scribbles.

             “Sorry.” Robin cleared her throat and without hesitation or peering at the menu she looked over at the waitress. “I’ll have the deluxe breakfast. Eggs sunny side up, wheat toast, and sausage instead of bacon. And a coffee. Please.” She had been here so many times, either with Chrom or with Lissa or Olivia or Sumia or Cordelia… she knew her order by heart and the coffee was pretty much second nature at 5 in the morning. The waitress nodded and then looked over to Gaius, who didn’t look fazed at all by the hour. He was sitting back with a cool and collected expression on his face, though he didn’t have the menu in hand either.

             “I’ll have the same thing, but I want my eggs scrambled, and I’ll have biscuits instead of toast.”

             “Still want the sausage?” The waitress asked him, and he nodded while sliding the stacked pair of menus over to her.

             “And I’ll have a short stack of the chocolate chip pancakes. And a hot cocoa. Extra whipped cream.” She wrote down the last bit of his order and took away the menus, disappearing from sight. Robin looked over at Gaius with a sleepy expression while she began flipping sugar packets in between her fingers.

             “Didn’t take you for a sausage man.” Robin paused, then gave an obnoxious laugh that came from being overtired and talking about foods that were vaguely phallic. Gaius snickered for a second, then bean stacking the little packets of jelly into towers.

            “Tastes better when you dip it in syrup.” His stack was around 5 high, though it looked like he was going to begin some more complex architecture when the waitress returned with their drinks. Robin was ecstatic about the arrival of the coffee, and she began drinking it as soon as her cup was filled. Gaius had a disgusted look on his face as she drank it down, trying to absorb the caffeine as quickly as possible. “You drink your coffee _black_?”

             “Yeah.” Robin shrugged. That was the way she had always done it, no sense in changing now. “I’m not the biggest fan of milk and—“

             “I can forgive the milk. But no sugar?” He sucked some of the whip off of his drink, purposefully leaving a mustache of the thick white cream on his upper lip. Robin laughed in an appropriate response, though she didn’t understand the hangup on the sugar.

             “I just have never used it in coffee, I guess.”

             “So I’m guessing your father was one of those types that banned fun?” He leaned across the table, close enough that Robin could get a glimpse into his green eyes. They were dark, a deeper emerald than she had ever seen on anyone before, with streaks of gray radiating from the center of the iris out. They were stunning, and she found herself staring before she could even catch herself to stop what she was doing.

             “Yeah. Yeah. Hm?” She had completely forgotten his question but was trying to play off the bluff enough so that he wouldn’t notice that she had been ogling him. He was quite attractive. Even if he was a delinquent who took pudding. He cracked a smile and Robin could tell that he hadn’t bought it, not even for a second.

             “Exactly, Bubbles.”

             “Robin.” She wanted to make sure that he _actually_ knew her name. Yeah it was nice to have a nickname all her own, but at the same time if they were going to have any sort of friendship he would have to know her name. _Friendship_. The word echoed through Robin’s head so loudly that she had to make sure it didn’t escape her lips. The whole night had been topsy turvy and she didn’t know exactly how it started or how it would end but she could feel her blood pumping in her ears due to the buzz of exhilaration coursing through her veins.

             “I know. But you don’t seem like a Robin to me.” He leaned back slowly, his back now pressing into the cool red vinyl of the diner seats. His gaze wandered over to the old jukebox on the far wall, and she could catch a glimpse of a spark and a twinkle in his eye.

             “No.” She said, her tone firm and curt and motherly. She could tell what he was thinking; it was quite obvious in his eyes as she had thought the same thing.

             “You don’t even know…”

             “Oh, I know.” Robin crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in the seat. “You’re going to walk over there and you’re going to punch in the same song over and over again to slowly drive me and the other patrons of this fine establishment _insane_.”

             “First of all, Bubbles. I would never do that. You have to stick a different song in the middle of all the same ones. But that wasn’t what I was planning on doing anyway.” He got quiet for a second, looking off into the distance. Robin turned around for a split second to try to see what he was wistfully staring at, but was met with the waitress. _Food, of course._ The woman placed their food down without a word, then slipped the check on top of the napkin dispenser. “We’ll save that for another time.”

             “Wait, there’s…” The waitress walked off before Robin could get her attention, and she grumbled at the singular black folder sitting there before them. “Unbelievable. Just because you’re a guy and I’m not doesn’t mean we’re on a _date_.” Gaius chuckled at her and began shoveling eggs into his mouth. He was clearly just as hungry as she was, though he was a lot less cranky about it.

             “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He speared a sausage link with his fork and began inspecting it, all the while Robin was carefully separating the tender whites from her deliciously runny yolks. “Should I be offended?”

             Robin glared at him, taking a bite of her eggs while refusing to break eye contact with him. She didn’t know what she had gotten herself into by accepting one of the boy’s cookies, but the whole night had been _wild_. Though, Robin couldn’t even say that she didn’t enjoy it. “Very. Now, pass the jam.”

             “Grape I assume?” Gaius asked as he held the little plastic container up, and Robin fiercely shook her head.

             “Not for jelly. Strawberry or bust.” He picked up the correct packet and Robin snatched it out of his hands, her fingers lingering against for a moment longer than they probably should have. “Thanks.” She dropped her hand down slowly and then shoved them into her lap under the table, the jelly still wrapped in her palms.

             “Grape for lollipops, but not for jam?” He was poking absentmindedly at his hashbrowns, trying to find the crispiest parts to eat first. “Grape is only good in jam.”

             “ _That_ , my dear Gaius, is where you are wrong.” She spread her strawberry jam over the already buttered wheat toast that was leftover from her yolk dipping, the layer so generous that the sticky pink gel was dripping over the sides. The redhead snickered from across the table and wiped the syrup from the corners of his mouth with one of the seemingly endless paper napkins in the dispenser.

             “Please enlighten me, _dear_ Bubbles.” He was mocking her, though she couldn’t care less considering that she was no longer hungry and because she had an entire grape manifesto written in her head from earlier. She put down her piece of toast and licked the sweet condiment off of her fingers before looking back up at him.

             “See. Grape candy is made from artificial grape flavor. And as everyone knows, artificial flavors don’t actually taste like what they’re supposed to taste like.” Robin looked around for a pen or something to try to diagram her entire speech, but she couldn’t find one. Still, she continued on. “Everyone just accepts that the red candies are cherry and the purple ones are grape. When you dissociate the color from the flavor from the fruit, it opens up a ton of possibilities.”

             “I see. And you are some sort of enlightened flavor Buddha?” Gaius went to stick his hand into his pocket, but he quickly remembered that Robin was wearing his jacket. Robin was wearing his jacket and she was looking pretty darn good in it too. But she didn’t seem to notice as she nodded along.

             “Yes! Exactly. But jam… Jam is made with the fruit. And everyone knows that of the real fruits, strawberries are the best.”

             “I’m allergic.” Gaius said with a small chuckle, and immediately Robin’s face went red.

             “I’m sorry! If I had known I wouldn’t have opened the—“

             “Relax, Bubbles,” Gaius leaned back against the booth, his arms resting behind his head and he looked so effortless and relaxed and handsome. He crooked a furtive smile on his face and she could feel all the blood rushing in her cheeks, “It’s only if I eat it. I get a nasty rash.”

             “Okay…” But still, she didn’t touch the rest of her toast after the comment. Her eyelids felt like they were taped to lead, her entire head felt light and buzzy despite the coffee that she had. “I guess we should pay. I think I have cash on me…”

             “Bubbles.”

             “Mmm Maybe some of it’s in quarters…”

             “ _Robin._ ” Only then did she look up from the inside of her wallet, finding that Gaius had slapped down a 20 on the counter and they were already being rung up. She frowned at him, obviously confused by his gesture. Still Robin plucked a few bills out of her wallet and tried to hand them to him, but he refused. “Call this my treat, Bubbles.”

             “Why do I feel like this is going to come back and bite me in the ass?” She mumbled under her breath, but Gaius just laughed as they exited.

             “Don’t worry. I won’t be biting your ass any time soon,” He winked, “unless you’re into that.” Robin didn’t hesitate before shoving his arm, knocking him off of his balance. He didn’t fall, in fact he caught himself quite quickly and laughed at Robin in his effortless and teasing manner. “You all right to drive?”

             “I’m _sleepy_ , not drunk.” She snapped, but Gaius stared her down while her every blink got longer and longer. “Fine. But you better be good to Myrtle.”

             “Myrtle? You named your car after an old lady?” He slid into the driver’s seat and immediately hit his head, grumbling at the way that her seat was adjusted for her petite form. After some fumbling and fondling of the car parts, he was able to adjust himself in the seat comfortably.

             “Myrtle may be shiny and flashy but she’s old and faithful and a little racist.” Robin leaned back in her seat and put her feet up on the dashboard, closing her eyes for a moment to try to get comfy. However, Gaius was flipping through the radio stations and grumbling about a lack of good music on. She was going to comment back, but he settled on a station playing one of her favorite songs. Not that she was going to let him know that.

             Gaius pulled the car out of the lot and got onto the road, the windows still open while the just-born sunlight washed over their skin. “Want me to park you back in Gold?” he asked while they were flying down the road, only a scattered few cars joining them.

             “Hm? Yeah.” She had fallen asleep again for a moment, and took a second to snicker at her own antics. Robin was about to say something else when she remembered that she still didn’t have the key to her dorm room, and her roommate was out until sometime on Sunday. “Shit.” She mumbled to herself, and Gaius raised an eyebrow. He had heard her, much to her chagrin, and looked over. They were conveniently stopped at a red light, otherwise she might have strangled him in the car, but he looked concerned.

             “What?”

             “Don’t have my key.” She bit down on her thumbnail, trying to think of where she could have left it, but between eating dinner and going to the study room she couldn’t quite remember what she had done with it. There was a vague possibility that she had left it at Chrom’s before he left for the weekend, but he lived with Frederick and they were both back in Ylissitol.

             “I can fix that.” Gaius cracked another Cheshire Cat smile and pulled into the parking deck, taking a second or two to straighten out his parking job before shutting the car off. “You have any hairpins?” He looked over at her and she reluctantly pulled one out of the mess of a ponytail she wore in her cotton-candy-pink hair. Her hands shook with exhaustion as she passed it over to him, and he slipped it into his pocket with a nod.

             The walk to the residence hall was uneventful, and since they both lived there their entrance was merely a matter of swiping a student ID card. Robin was glad for the lack of the fire escape theatrics, but at the same time it lacked the excitement that the breaking and entering had. They took the stairs, not the elevator. Robin insisted, even though she was tired.

             “We live on the second floor. I can make it up one flight of stairs.” And he had nodded in agreement while they walked down the hallway. One of the lights was flickering and there was a strange and sour smell in the hall, but that was the least of what both of them had seen since moving there. They ended up in front of Robin’s door, which stood out because of the lack of decorations on it. There had been some at one point, but Robin had to take them down because they were a bit too _creepy_ for the general hallway public.

             “Now, let me work my magic.” Gaius said with a laugh, pulling the pocketed hairpin out. He kneeled on the ground to get eye level with the lock, though Robin couldn’t see much of what was going on due to the fact that his head was in the way. Still, she could see his hand jimmying around, could hear him mumbling a few encouraging words like the lock was a woman he was trying to fuck. She thought it was ridiculous until they both heard a click, and the door opened.

             “Wow. You did it.” Robin was genuinely impressed, and Gaius made sure to bow in front of her. She looked down into the dark of her room, only to find that her keys were sitting on the ground in front of it. Blood immediately flushed to Robin’s cheeks and she wished that she could sink into the ground and disappear. She was one of the people that made sure the prince’s head was on straight and she couldn’t even keep her keys in her possession.

             “Don’t doubt the magic fingers.” Gaius leaned against the doorframe and cocked the corner of his mouth up into a smile. Robin was unaffected, as she just wanted to crawl into her bed and get a few minutes of sleep before Tharja came back with toad toes or something equally disturbing. “Anyway, I should let you sleep.” He got up off of the wall and took a step in front of her, giving her a soft and playful punch on the shoulder.

             “I had fun.” Robin said, and Gaius nodded.

             “Yeah. Me too. Night, Bubbles.” He began to walk off, and she was going to stop him to ask if they could exchange phone numbers. After all, they had fun. Maybe they could be friends. But before she could call her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out slowly. She gave the screen a slight glance as she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her, reveling in the silence that she almost never had. There on the screen read his name: Gaius. The message was a repeat of his last words to her. A simple, ‘ _Night, Bubbles._ ’ But it was something. A nice something.

             Robin was about to throw on her pajamas when another realization hit her. She was still wearing his jacket. But, she was tired and the return could wait till she had at least a few hours of sleep. She threw on one of the free shirts they gave out all over campus and a pair of flannel pajama pants and crawled into bed, finally letting her body rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some quick clarifications. 
> 
> The dorm rooms inhabited by Gaius and Robin are two room suite styles, with a small common area and a bathroom to share. I chose this layout A) Because it was the one I was pretty familiar with my first year in college and B) because I didn't particularly want to pick out 3 roommates for each of the characters. One suffices nicely. The room that Lissa and Maribelle share is a traditional style dorm, with two beds in one room and a floor bathroom. The building that they live in is based on a certain residence hall at my university, which is the reason for that style of room. 
> 
> If you like what you read, leave some kudos. I love comments as well, and you can always reach me on tumblr, Safraninflare!


	2. All That Glitters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a chance meeting, Robin and Gaius flesh out their friendship. All seems well until Chrom and the other Shepherds begin making assumptions about the nature of her relationship with Gaius.

            It was late, later than it should have been for Chrom to be over. Normally he was an early to bed, early to rise type. It was only once in a blue moon that Robin could get him over to watch crappy movies while they talked about their friends and their classes and their respective home lives. When Robin first got to college, she didn’t know what would happen. She just didn’t think that she would become the best friend of the Ylissian prince. He was her dearest friend, like another half of her soul. However, they had no romantic intentions towards each other. They had thought about it for a minute, once upon a time, but decided against it. After all, Chrom had a thing for Olivia, and Robin had a thing for her books. Still, she loved him with all of her heart and cherished every moment that she had with him. He was like the doofy brother that she never had. He was _Chrom_.

            “It’s getting late, Robin.” He said, the girl leaning against his shoulder with sleepy eyes of her own. She had the container of popcorn on her lap, though it was was only full of reject pieces and the butter-coated kernels stuck to the bottom. Robin groaned in response, as he was being her pillow and Octogator wasn’t even over yet. But, it was nearly midnight and he did have a point.

            “Five more minutes?” Robin gave him a look that could only be described as half-assed puppydog eyes and he couldn’t help but laugh. Still, she got off of him and stood up, taking a second to stretch out her back. Chrom took the opportunity to get up as well, though he had a strange look on his face.

            “New coat?” He asked, pointing to Gaius’ jacket which was still sitting on the back of one of the rickety kitchen chairs. Robin’s face immediately went pale white, though she couldn’t exactly explain to him why. She was going to go drop off the coat earlier in the day, but she had gotten sidetracked with sleeping and homework and now she was practically a criminal.

            “No, uh. It belongs to a friend.” Chrom raised an eyebrow, a smile growing on his face while Robin got more and more irritated. “I see that look in your eyes, and I’m going to stop it right now.” Still, Chrom kept smiling. He went to take a few steps over, but she cut him off by shoving herself in between the chair and his body.

            “Don’t make me throw the soap dish at you again.” She had her finger up to accentuate her defensive glare, and she could see the fear flash in his eyes. Finally she was able to relax, taking a second to shrug the jacket onto her shoulders. “I need to bring this back.”

            “Well, whose is it?” Chrom asked, punching Robin lightly in the arm. He was glad that his friend seemed to be finding someone to fancy. They had been friends for over a year now, and while he didn’t want to pry or suggest that she needed a relationship to be happy, seeing that maybe she was letting her hair down a bit was refreshing.

            “He’s just a friend, Chrom. I just met him last night.” She stuck her hands into the pockets and let her fingers brush against the lollipops and toffees and taffies and sweets inside of them.

            “And you already have his jacket?” Chrom crossed his arms over his chest and gave a laugh, his cobalt blue hair looking almost black in the darkness of the room. Robin blushed again, this time shoving him until he nearly lost his balance. If Frederick had been around, Robin was sure he would have had a heart attack. But it was just Robin and Chrom and the dark.

            “He insisted. But I’m giving it back. There’s nothing going on.” Before she had been trying to get Chrom to stay, but now she was ushering him out, pushing on his back even though it was solid muscle to try to get him to the door. “And don’t tell Maribelle!”

            “Fine, I’m just teasing.” Chrom was going to open his mouth again, but Robin cut him off before he could even attempt to speak.

            “His name is Gaius. But keep your mouth shut because he’s just a friend.”

            “Prince’s honor.”

            “Tell Olivia I said hi.” Robin gave him a small smile and a hug before he left, the door closing to leave Robin alone in the darkness. She counted to five before pulling out her phone. The light illuminated her face, the blue tint from the screen dancing on her hair. She was going to send a text to see if he could pick it up, but before she could type anything the door opened and hit her in the face. Tharja was standing there, her deep black hair set in its normal style, her clothes just as dark.

            “Robin! Did I hit you? Are you bleeding? I know a good hex that should fix that…”

            “No. No hexes. I’m fine. I was just leaving, actually.” Robin’s face was pale white now. Tharja was… interesting. She fancied herself a dark mage, and Robin often found her in the corners brewing something or other or planning to infect someone’s toes with gangrene as revenge. And to top it all off, Tharja was _obsessed_ with her.

            “All right. But please don’t make any noise when you get back. I’m working on a new curse and any sound could cause a disturbance. Disturbances could be _disastrous_.” She put emphasis on her last word, her thick Plegian accent coming through. It reminded Robin of home, and she couldn’t really complain. A lot of people from back home were interested in the same stuff as Tharja. But Robin had never really been a fan of the dark arts, especially when they were placed upon her.

            “I’ll keep that in mind. Night, Tharja.” Robin exited the dorm, her keys in her hand as she left. There was a study room at the end of the hall that she could crash in for a few minutes, at least long enough to find someone to take her in for the night. But, reminded of her mission, Robin pulled out her phone again and shot a quick text to Gaius. A simple, “Are you home?” single question mark. It was casual, it was fast, and she hoped that he got it soon because she was out of the study room and standing in front of his door, hovering her knuckles over the wood. Her hands were shaking as she stood there, waiting to see if she would get up the courage to knock. She was only flustered because of Chrom’s teasing.

            “Robin, get it together.” She took a deep breath and finally knocked, sending the sound echoing through the air. There was a pause—she felt her phone vibrating before the door swung open. Gaius was standing there, his eyes half closed but the headband was still hanging off of his head. This time he was wearing a thin and tight T-shirt and a pair of boxers. “Shit, did I wake you up?”

            “Bubbles? Na.” He pushed his bright ginger bangs off of his forehead and took a step inside. “Come in.”

            “I brought your jacket…” She shrugged it off of her shoulders and folded it neatly, but when he took it from her he just tossed it back onto the ground with all the other clothes. “I didn’t mean to intrude…”

            “Stop with the apologies.” Gaius waved her off and flipped a few lights on. This time she finally stepped into his room, though there were still clothes on the floor. “I was just watching a movie.” She looked over at him, he was certainly disheveled but there was something intriguing about it. His shirt was clean, despite the piles of clothes everywhere. And despite the large amounts of candy he consumed just in her few hours with him, he had nice arms. Though, now the black wristband was gone and she could see _something_.

            “Is that a tattoo?” Robin asked, squinting her eyes so that she could see better, but Gaius instantly recoiled and covered his arm. She heard him mutter something under his breath, and she wasn’t planning on prying. In fact she was turning to leave when he grabbed for her wrist, making her frown and twist her face in confusion.

            “Bubbles, you’ve got to keep this between you and me.” He was holding her with both of his hands, giving her a good view of the mark on his wrist. It was telltale, a large and raised burn scar in a perfect ring. Robin wasn’t very versed in the seedy criminal underbelly of Ylisse but she could at least identify the origin.

            “That’s what they give convicted criminals, isn’t it?” Her eyes looked sad, and she covered it with her hand, trying to give him a small smile even though she could see that he was upset.

            “Yeah. Got caught doing a favor for a mate. Paid the price.” He looked down at her hands covering his wrist and grunted, the sound coming from deep in his throat. “I’d appreciate it if you kept this little nugget between us, Bubbles.” His fingers tapped at her temple during the syllables of _nugget_ , though she wasn’t particularly bothered by the touch. He pulled his hand back and repeated the gesture on his own head

            “Understood.” She still had her hands on him, and they both looked down, taking a moment to be quiet.

            “If you’re going to blackmail me… Look, I’ll give you anything you want. I have these really good chocolates from Fero—“

            “I don’t want anything from you, Gaius.” Robin said, and he dropped his hands to walk to the corner of his room. Now that her wrist was free, Robin crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the ground, a frown on her face. “I’m not going to tell anyone. You’re my friend.”

            “Friend?” He said the word like it was foreign on his tongue, and he seemed to pause for a minute to consider it. “I guess we are friends, Bubbles.” It was strange to see him have to think about it, but then again they had only begun talking the night before. Still, they had spent a good amount of time together. They had exchanged numbers. But still, she could see why he had hesitation.

            “We have to be now, right?” She laughed lightly, running a hand through her ponytail to try to do _something_ other than look at him.

            “Yeah. Hey, I know it’s late, but do you want to hang for a bit?” She reluctantly looked up and he had an eyebrow raised, pointing to the TV on the clothes-covered dresser. “I was just about to start a new one.” Robin bit her lip, she was overcome with a sudden reluctance and it was nearly eating her inside. She had come here for the exact purpose of hanging out, wanting to get away from Tharja just for a little bit. And now she was faced with the exact situation that she wanted and she was _nervous_. Maybe it was Chrom’s teasing infecting her. Maybe it was the fact that he was only in a thin white tee shirt and a pair of cherry red boxers, or the fact that seeing the brand on his wrist had been just as strangely intimate as seeing him naked.

            “Uh… Yeah. If you don’t mind having me.” She gave a shrug, but she stood in her spot as she wasn’t sure exactly where to sit down. They were friends, but not friends like Chrom and her were. She couldn’t just claim a spot on his bed and sprawl out until he had to find room on his own bed. He seemed to see it in her eyes and he began picking up and kicking clothing to the side, clearing an area on the floor. He sat down in the cleared spot, and Robin followed suit. Somehow they ended up lying on the floor, facing opposite directions so that their heads were nearly inches apart. She could feel his warmth right next to her, and it was slightly daunting. _Gods, Chrom this is all your fault._

            “Hm?” Gaius had asked, and it took a moment to realize that she had _said it out loud._ Though, he didn’t seem to really hear what she was saying so she was able to get away with grumbling a small excuse and leaving it at that. “No calculus tonight, Bubbles?”

            “Got most of it done last night. I have some other things to do but they’re not due until next week. I can relax a bit.” Robin looked over at Gaius and gave a small smile, which he returned.

            “Good to see you have a pause button.” He shifted a bit, putting his hands under his head to rest and stretch out, though neither of them had said anything else about a movie. They laid there for a few minutes in the silence, caused by the hour and by the fact that they didn’t exactly know what to say. “So what I’ve put together  on you. You’re Plegian. You, for some reason, like grape candy even though you don’t like grape jelly. You do calculus for fun, you drive a nice car, and you’re very protective of your pudding.”

            “Sums it up about right.” Robin paused. She knew it would probably come up sooner or later as to what her status was, but for a moment she wanted to be normal Robin as opposed to royal Robin. A long breath drifted out of her chest while she stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what to say next. “I know you’re a former delinquent. You have an insane love for sugar, you’re a decent driver, and you’re allergic to strawberries.”

            “I take offense to that. _Former_ delinquent. Remember who helped you with your breaking and entering.” She looked over at him long enough to catch a wink from him, and she could feel a strange warmth spreading through her chest. Chrom’s head popped into her mind, her hands balling into fists at the thought because this was _his_ fault. She had made a friend and now things were going to get weird. Robin didn’t even have _those_ feelings for Gaius but now she knew that every action was going to be overanalyzed. And there was no way that Maribelle wouldn’t find out. Maribelle _always_ found out.

            “Very true. Thank you for that, by the way. Thankfully there wasn’t anything missing from their room, but…”

            “Yeah. Yeah, no problem.” He had cut her off and seemed to have no interest in going back to what she was saying, so she dropped it. He had gotten weird about their room the night before too, and while it was strange pushing it would only hurt his feelings. “You like Oreos?”

            “Is that even a question?” She pushed herself up to a sit, the motion natural and fluid for her after Frederick had everyone go through workout tapes with him. She had gotten quite good at it towards the end, and still frequently met with him to spend some time with training. Gaius gave her a smile and pulled himself up using his desk, which was consolidated with the nightstand and the dresser provided with the room to create one megadesk. It was impressive to say the least, but it also annoyed Robin because she hadn’t thought of it first. He disappeared for a moment, then returned with a pristine and unopened pack of double stuffed Oreos. He sat back down on the floor and ripped back the plastic, exposing the cookies for the two of them.

            “And I know you’re friends with the prince.” Robin nodded, taking a cookie from the package to twist it into two. She paused, holding the cream centered side only inches away from her face. He was looking at her, and she met his eyes carefully even though there wasn’t much to say.

            “Yeah. He’s like my big brother. Even if he needs me around to make sure he doesn’t do anything that’ll get him killed.” Robin gave a shrug and began licking at the cream, and Gaius did the same with the Oreo in his hands. “What about you?”

            “Am I friends with Chrom?”

            “You know what I meant.” She didn’t put down her cookies before shoving Gaius’ arm with her elbow, his face cracked into a smile. In the few hours that she had known him, she had picked up on his sarcasm and the way that he let most things just roll off his back. It was refreshing, as she was someone that cared just a little _too_ much. “What kind of friends do you have?”

            “Probably ones you’d put in the delinquent category.” Gaius gave a shrug and shifted to hide his arm again. He looked rather uncomfortable without the arm band on, and Robin could notice. She shoved the half of the cookie with no cream on it into her mouth, then looked a random shirt on the floor. It wasn’t hard to find one, and in only a few seconds she had the cloth haphazardly tied over the mark. He stared down at it, though he looked quite relieved. “Thanks, Bubbles.” He lifted his hand and ruffled her hair, before lying back down on the ground. The room was quiet once again, save for the sound of Ylisse’s favorite cookie and the purr of the muted TV. It was strange and quiet, yet perfect. In fact, it kind of reminded her of the early days of her friendship with Chrom.

            “Look, I don’t think less of you because of what you’ve done, or what you do.” Robin’s voice cracked as she tried to raise it above the silence, the buzz from her lack of sleep finally starting to ring in her skull. He didn’t respond, and that made Robin nervous. She sat up, looking over at him. His position had changed, as he was now leaning against the dresser part of megadesk and looking off into the distance. “Gaius?”

            “Yeah. Thanks, Bubbles.” He gave a sad and crooked smile while he rubbed his sweating palms on the carpet. “I do what I have to do.” His arms stretched above his head, but he rested them behind it. She could see the way that his muscles moved under his shirt and wondered how he could possibly look that nice (or not be in a diabetic coma) while consuming so much sugar. He was looking over at her, an Oreo half shoved in her mouth without so much as even a small care to looking _proper_ while doing it. Maribelle would throw a fit, she knew, but Robin couldn’t care less at the moment. When she noticed that he was staring, she quickly chewed and swallowed and covered her face with her hands. He laughed lightly, though it was more of a friendly laugh than a teasing laugh. Even if he was going to be a douche about it, she didn’t care.

            “Look, I don’t come from a lot of money.” He said with a sigh. Now his eyes were on the ceiling, staring intently at the dead bugs trapped in the fluorescent light on the ceiling. “My car is a piece of shit, I haven’t seen my father since I was about 12, and my mom never took it really well.” Robin opened her mouth to say something, but he immediately cut her off.

            “I’m not looking for sympathy. So don’t say it. Look, I was an angry kid and I fell in with the wrong crowd and I made mistakes.” He brushed his bangs off of his forehead, both of them remaining silent. She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t relate. Even when she was on the run with her mother in Chon’sin they had enough money to at least not worry about living on the streets. It was a lot less than she ever had when living with her father, but it was something. Still, she wanted to say something encouraging. “And I probably haven’t stopped making mistakes.”

            This was turning into such a cliché that Robin wondered when exactly she had gotten dropped off in some sort of teen movie. He was the bad boy, and according to the genre she was destined to fall for him. “At least you’re not an axe murderer?” She was trying to lighten the mood, and her comment gained a snicker from the redhead.

            “That’s what you think, Bubbles.” He winked at her with a click of his mouth, and she couldn’t help but crack a smile. “I don’t know if I’m feeling a movie anymore. You play video games?” She perked up at his question, a look of pure joy in her eyes.

            “Guilty pleasure. What do you have? Whatever it is, I promise I will make you cry.” Gaius thought that she was just talking a big game, but when he pulled out the controllers and loaded up a pretty standard fighting game he learned that she wasn’t kidding.

            “For the love of Naga, Bubbles.” Gaius shouted as he mashed a couple more buttons, trying to keep her from killing him _again_. The attempt, however, was futile. Robin had already kicked all of his clothes off and now he was soaring into the sunset.

            “It’s all easy once you see how the other person plays.” Robin leaned back against the frame of his bed and gave an effortless smile, though it looked slightly creepy in the dark room. Only the glow of the TV screen illuminated them now, the Oreos long eaten and any hope of getting to bed at a reasonable hour thrown into the wind. “You rely too much on trying to do crouching attacks. It’s predictable.”

            “I guess you’re right.” He tapped his chin, the dirty t-shirt still wrapped around his wrist to hide the brand. “Hey, Bubbles. Can I ask you a question?”

            “Uh, I guess.” She was quite nervous about what said question would be. She hoped that he wasn’t getting the wrong idea, or that he was going to ask more questions about her background. There was no way she wanted him to know that her father was the reigning king of Plegia. For one thing, she didn’t want him to think she was stuck up or thought herself better because she happened to be born into the family that she was. She began to twirl a lock of her hair around her index finger, spinning it so tightly that it looked like it could snap.

            “What’s up with the gloves?” Robin let out a sigh of relief as he finished his question. That, _that_ she could answer. She looked down to her hands, covered by the black leather fingerless driving gloves that she always wore. It was a force of habit. But, if she and Gaius were going to be friends she couldn’t be dodgy about such a simple thing. Still, it was something that she had done since she was a little girl.

            “It’s… I guess it’s easier to show rather than tell.” She undid the button on her right hand, then bit the index finger and pulled her hand away until the glove came off. On the back of her hand was a strange mark, six purple eyes staring up at both of them. They were cold and unblinking and unfeeling, which was part of the reason Robin sealed them away.

            “Tattoo regret?” Gaius tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy, and Robin shook her head in response.

            “Birthmark. It’s kind of creepy though. I just prefer to keep it covered, I guess.” She shrugged and he shrugged back before he placed his hand on top of hers.

            “To be fair, it’s only a little creepy.” He chuckled nervously, and the nervousness only grew as Robin pulled her hand back, slipping it back into its glove as quickly as it had come out. “That’s some Plegian thing though, right?”

            “I’m the only person I’ve seen it on.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and the sentence was followed by a large yawn. The clock on the nightstand portion of the megadesk was proudly proclaiming that it was 3:30 in the morning, and now she could say that she had known Gaius for 24 hours. It may have been one of the strangest 24-hour periods of her life, but it was also one of the most interesting. “Shit.”

            “Hm?” Gaius perked up from his spot on the floor, nearly nodding off himself. He looked up quickly, blinking a few times before seeing Robin sitting there with her head in her hands. “You tired?”

            “Me? No, I’m an energy machine.” She forced a laugh, though she recanted it only seconds later. “Yeah. I should be heading back.” Robin stood up, one of her hands pressing into the particleboard of the bedframe to help her push herself up. Gaius had a delayed reaction, blinking a few more times before standing up to meet her. He towered nearly a head above her in height, though she hadn’t quite noticed until then.

            “Yeah… I mean I guess.” Gaius nodded like he wasn’t nearly asleep, trying to pretend that he could understand a simple sentence. “Hey Robin?”

            “Did you just call me _Robin_?”

            “That’s your name, isn’t it?” She nodded, and he did as well. “Well, I’m glad I met you. Though, look. I have these honey cakes and…”

            “I’m not going to blackmail you. Gaius, your secret is safe with me.” She grabbed one of his hands with both of hers, looking up into his tired eyes to try to get him to understand—to listen. “I’m glad I met you too. Now, I think we both need to get some sleep.” A smile crept up on her face, though it was small and soft and tired, barely reaching her eyes.

            “Yeah. Night, Bubbles.”

            “Night, Gaius.” Robin returned to her room, careful to make as little noise as possible lest Tharja decide to curse her tongue into a knot. She slipped off her ripped-up jeans and slipped on a pair of flannel pajama pants before crawling into her bed. There were a million and one thoughts running through her head, and she couldn’t help but find herself _fascinated_ by Gaius. He was so cool and effortless and unapologetic about being himself. She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes, slowly letting herself drift off to sleep.

\--

            The next Friday night Robin found herself sitting on the floor in Chrom’s room, surrounded by a circle of the others. Maribelle was directly across from her, with Lissa to her right and Sumia to her left. Next to Sumia sat Cordelia, and next to Cordelia was Frederick, followed by Chrom and Olivia. He had his hand overlapping hers, though that was the only romantic gesture displayed between the two of them. They weren’t ones for PDA, though they showed their infatuation with each other through the looks they exchanged between themselves.

            Lissa was sitting next to Sully, who was sitting next to Vaike. Vaike and Stahl were chattering between themselves, and to Robin’s left was Olivia’s friend from Chon’sin, Lon’qu, who was in Vaike’s words “Allergic to Women.”

            “Nope, Maribelle. You have to drink!” They were playing some game that Robin couldn’t remember the name of, but it was something like truth or dare but with a lot more alcohol. She was almost certain that Vaike had made it up. Her cup was filled with whatever mess they had made with the bottles that they had and her head felt light and fuzzy.

            “I never said that, you _brute_!” Maribelle had her arms folded across her chest and she was looking away from Vaike, though she still reached for the bottle in his hand and took a long sip from it. When she finished, she pulled her pink and frilly monogrammed hankie from her pocket and dabbed it daintily at the corners of her mouth.

            “You did too!” Sully added. She was quite drunk already, but she always made it to the point of being bawdy and singing tavern songs despite never stepping foot in a tavern.

            “Robin!” Maribelle called, and she snapped out of her haze. Robin realized she had been staring into her cup for a while now and had lost track of the game. They could tell her that it was her turn even if she just went and she would probably believe it. “What about you? Is there a _special someone_ in your life?” Immediately Robin turned to Chrom, reaching over the blushing Olivia to smack him on the shoulder.

            “I told you not to tell her! There’s nothing going on!” Robin turned to look for something to throw at the prince, but the only things nearby were glass and would probably break his skull. He was laughing too hard anyway; she would never be able to aim well enough to hit him where she wanted to.

            “I didn’t say anything!” Chrom said, holding his hands up to try to push his innocence—to get her to calm down so that she _wouldn’t start throwing the heavy glass objects_. “Promise.”

            “Swear to Naga?” Robin was pointing at him, her eyes squinted and accusing while everyone chuckled in the background even though they were slightly frightened. They had all been subject to the wrath of Robin armed with something to throw, and no one had ever had a pleasant time with it.

            “I thought you only had eyes for the Vaike!” Vaike protested, which made Robin _actually_ contemplate throwing a bottle at him.

            “Only in your dreams, _Teach_.” She gave him an overdramatic wink, which he returned while clicking his tongue and pointing at her. “But really, Maribelle. There’s no one. I’ve got studies.”

            “At least they’re good dreams.” Vaike said, ignoring the look on Maribelle’s face.

            “It’s very rude of you to interrupt our conversation.” Her cheeks were rosy from the booze she was drinking, though her blonde hair was still in every perfect ringlet. Robin didn’t know what she used on her hair to keep it so perfect but it always was. “Robin darling, don’t lie to me. You obviously have Chrom keeping a secret for you.”

            “It’s not a secret!” Now Robin’s face was red, and she began downing the remainder of the contents of her cup. She didn’t quite remember the rules of the game but she figured that if she drained her cup someone would shut up so they could refill it. “Chrom got the wrong idea about a friend of mine and I told him not to say anything to you because you’d blow it out of proportion!”

            “I would _never_!” She seemed more sarcastic than hurt, a hand pressed to her chest in defense of Robin’s statement. “But why did he get the wrong idea?” Maribelle leaned forward, her ringlets moving with her to the point where Robin could smell the fruity alcohol on her breath.

            “He’s _Chrom_?” Robin replied, and the blue-haired boy crossed his arms over his chest with a pout.

            “Hey! I had reason to believe. You had his jacket.”

            “A jacket?” Maribelle raised an eyebrow and got behind Robin, undoing the hair tie in her cotton-candy pink hair to begin braiding it. “And you say that you’re not _involved_ with this boy?”

            “It’s nothing, Maribelle.” Robin closed her eyes so that she could enjoy the feeling of someone playing with her hair, even if those fingers were drunk and sloppy and seeing double. Robin was equally buzzed and wouldn’t care anyway. Olivia, who was sitting on Robin’s right was giggling behind her hand at the conversation. She was sitting cross-legged with her red plastic cup in front of her legs. Her hair was a similar color to Robin’s, so much so that when they were out together people often asked if they were sisters. Even though they weren’t biologically, especially since Robin was Plegian and Olivia Feroxi, the two had developed a close and sisterly bond.

            “Is… Is he cute?” The dancer asked, and Robin’s hands flew to cover her cherry red face.

            “Et tu, Olivia?” Robin was shaking her head, even though it was making it more difficult for Maribelle to braid and the blonde wasted no time letting her know. “But, I guess. He’s not bad to look at. But there’s nothing going on! This is why I didn’t want to say anything!”

            “Who wants to play spin the bottle? I’ll go first!” Vaike had been ignored for too long, and he thrived on the attention. He was your classic frat boy type, always walking around as a total fashion disaster. His wardrobe consisted only of chubbies and tee shirts with the sleeves ripped off, his feet adorned with boat shoes even though he had never been on a boat in his life.

            “You’re a pig.” Cordelia said from her side of the circle. She was lying down on the floor on her stomach, her legs curled in the air while she flipped through a textbook on the floor. She was a genius engineering student, and even during their parties she found some way to hit the books.

            “I’m in.” Robin said, giving Vaike enough incentive to spin the bottle on the floor. It skidded a bit, but it was most definitely pointing at himself. Vaike grumbled a bit and then handed the bottle to Robin, who spun it with vigor. She wanted to shut everyone up about Gaius and the only way her drunk mind could think to do that was by making out with someone else in the room. The bottle twirled on the ground for a good few seconds before settling down on Lon’qu. Robin looked right at him, and he looked over at her. Both of their faces were bright red with embarrassment and Robin realized she should have expected something like this. It was spin the bottle and she was going to actually have to kiss someone.

            “Lonk!” Robin exclaimed, her voice stiff and nervous and slurring from the punch she had downed only minutes earlier. She walked over to him on her knees, though she fell forward and grabbed onto his shoulder for stability. “Hi.”

            “Hello.” The word was stifled and short, like he was holding his breath. His whole body was tense, and looking at him Robin was sure that he was going to be sick. He broke eye contact with Robin to look over to Vaike, the expression in his eyes pleading for this not to be a thing that happened, even though he knew that it was going to.

            “I have to kiss you…” Her hands were in front of her face, blocking her mouth and muffling her words. However she pulled them away and quickly pecked Lon’qu on the lips, slinking back to her spot quicker than it took for anyone to blink. He placed his head in his hands, trying to block the enormous blush forming through his cheeks, then grabbed the bottle to give it a spin. The opening pointed towards Lissa, who was looking down at her phone with a concerned face. When she looked up, she could see the black haired boy staring at her while everyone else giggled.

            “Well, it’s about time. Pucker up!” The blonde put down her phone and flashed a smile, sparkly and white and reflective of her personality. She slid over to him, taking a moment to look him over before she planted her lips on his. The kiss was longer than Robin’s had been, and it was slightly uncomfortable to watch. Lon’qu looked surprised, but he didn’t have the blush on his face that he did with Robin. Instead he frowned, though he watched Lissa go back to Maribelle to giggle and point.

            “I cannot believe that you sucked me into these childish games.” He said while he sat back in his seat. His beer was sitting in front of him, and he made a point to dramatically grab it and start drinking while his other arm was crossed over his chest. Everyone expected Lissa to spin next but instead she handed the bottle to Cordelia, who still had her nose buried in her textbook. A pair of reading glasses were balanced on her nose, and when she saw the empty vessel in front of her she merely grumbled.

            “Excuse me, but Statics is more important than kissing games.” Still, she took the bottle and gave it a spin, frowning as it landed on Stahl. “Oh.” She said, watching as he looked up from stuffing his face with potato chips. He looked embarrassed, wiping the crumbs from his mouth before Cordelia came over to him. Even though she had protested the game, she was hamming it up. She placed her right hand gingerly on his shoulder, taking a second to take a breath before she went in for the smooch. It didn’t last as long as the one between Lissa and Lon’qu, but by the time she broke away and went back to her textbook Stahl looked like he was going to need a cold shower.

            “S…Sumia, take it.” Stahl relinquished control of the bottle to the brunette, who was a light and giggly drunk. “Just take it.” Sumia walked over on her knees, though she ended up tripping on nothing at all and ended up falling forward with her head in Vaike’s lap. For someone who talked a big game he was _freaking out_ , holding his hands up in the air to show that he wasn’t doing anything to her.

            “Whoops.” Sumia said, her face red as she snatched the bottle from Stahl and slid back over next to Cordelia. The two girls were best friends, they were practically raised together. Sumia looked around the circle, though she avoided eye contact with Vaike, and spun the bottle. The glass veered off course, crashing into Chrom’s knee with the spout pointed right at Cordelia. Sumia gave a shrug and began deeply smooching Cordelia, the two ending up on the floor giggling and kissing while Vaike whooped. Cordelia broke away for a second to glare at him, then went back to kissing her best friend.

“I should… Go home.” Robin had lost count of the number of drinks she had, her head fuzzy as she nodded. Normally Chrom would stop her, make her sleep on the couch or something until she was sober enough to walk. However they lived in the same building and going home was only a matter of an elevator ride downstairs. Lon’qu was still sitting in his spot, face in his hands with the redness spreading even past their borders. Vaike was patting him on the back, though Lon’qu could care less about any sort of rites of passage. He had been kissed by two girls, two _pretty_ girls.

            “Robin, it’s still early!” Maribelle protested, but Robin stood up and brushed the knees of her jeans off. She was sticky from spilled drinks and smelled like beer and fruity vodkas and lemonade and her head spun with every step.

            “I’ve got to study in the morning.” She was determined, and her talk of leaving provoked Cordelia to break off from Sumia and stand up as well. The brunette pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, as she had been having fun.

            “Robin’s right. I’m going to turn in too.” She was probably the most sober of anyone in the room (though that wasn’t saying much), her cherry red hair spilling over the textbook in her arms. “I’ve got a prototype I’m working on and I can’t slack on it.” Robin nodded along, especially since she had seen the spear that she was working on. It was quite impressive, just as everything Cordelia did was.

            “Goodnight and goodbye, everyone!” Robin called, blowing kisses at everyone while she and Cordelia exited. The taller girl lived upstairs from Chrom, while Robin lived downstairs. They waved goodbye at the staircase, though Robin went down the stairs by sitting and scooting down them, just as she had done when she was a child around the massive marble steps in her home when she grew tired of walking them. She made her way down the hallway, keeping one hand pressed on the wall, watching all the numbers so that she would know hers when she found it.

            However, when she got to a certain door, she fell sideways, as it opened just as she placed her weight on it. The girl crashed to the floor, and though she wasn’t hurt she was incredibly embarrassed. The embarrassment was doubly heightened when her vision stopped doubling and she could tell that it was _Gaius_ standing there. He blinked a few times with an eyebrow raised before extending his hand down to help her up. “Looks like you had fun, Bubbles.”

            “Plenty.” She gave him a salute, though it sent her off balance again. This time she pressed against the wall with a dopey smile plastered all over her face. “But now I must sleep!”

            “That’s… probably a good idea.” Gaius chuckled to himself as Robin began rolling against the wall, down the hall to her room and disappeared through the door. “Don’t forget to drink some water!” Even though he called it out as soon as he thought of it, she was already gone. He shook his head, erasing the encounter from his mind so that he could make it to the vending machine for a late-night pack of peanut butter cups.

            Sober Robin was always impressed with how drunk Robin always managed to perfectly get ready for bed. She took off her makeup, brushed her teeth, and made it into a pair of pajamas the right way round before crawling into bed, the clock just striking 3 as her head hit the pillow.

\--

            A week or two had passed, and Robin found herself hanging with Gaius just as much as she spent time with Chrom or Cordelia. However, she hadn’t mixed the two groups. Gaius was like her little secret, her treasure. That, and she was also worried that her friends wouldn’t accept him. Chrom was the golden boy, Frederick loyal and efficient. She could go on and on listing the guys in her friend group and their positive attributes, and they were all _stellar_. The only person that Robin had met through Chrom that she didn’t particularly like was his childhood best friend, Vaike. But then again, the first time Robin had met him he had just gotten off from his third keg stand of the night and tried to make a pass at her. As sleazy as it was, his pickup line had made her laugh so hard that she almost sent Ylisse Punch straight through her nose. She even considered his proposition just because it had been _that good_. But then he disappeared and Chrom couldn’t track him down until it was time to go home. Turns out he had been hiding in the bushes for the greater part of an hour.

            Then there was the element of _chemistry_. Chrom had already begun the teasing without even meeting Gaius, but now that they had been hanging out more often Robin knew that the jeers would only increase. Just because he happened to be a man, and she a woman didn’t mean that they were automatically destined to fall in love. It annoyed her to no end, so she just _didn’t_ mix the two. Gaius was like oil, while Chrom and his Shepherds were her calm waters—they didn’t mix. Or at least, she _wouldn’t_ mix them.

            It was half past one on a Thursday night when her phone began buzzing uncontrollably. The only reason she was still up was because she had been finishing some particularly annoying homework after the building’s wifi had crashed for over an hour, though she had been planning on going to sleep right before the assault started. Reluctantly, Robin picked up her phone to see a string of messages from Gaius. The one positioned at the top simply read ‘Bubbles’ in all caps, and she figured it was another one of his random texts about whether or not Blowpops or Tootsie pops were the superior candy. When she unlocked her phone, she was quite surprised to find that that wasn’t the case.

1:34AM: SHIT

1:34AM: BUBBLES ARE YOU AWAKE

1:34AM: I NEED HELP

1:35AM: BUBBLES

1:35AM: BUBBLES I’M SERIOUS

1:35AM: BUBBLES

            Robin was concerned. There were so many thoughts running through her head, but she barely typed out her message before flying out of her room and down the hall. She banged on the door a few times and before he even finished opening it she was already shouting. “What’s wrong? Are you oka—“ She stopped herself midsentence, looking down at Gaius’s hand. Even though it was wrapped in paper towels, she could see the blood seeping through it. “What did you _do_?”

            “I was working on something. Hand slipped.” Despite the tone of his text messages, he was acting rather nonchalant about the whole ordeal. He took a seat on his couch, just staring in the air while Robin was panicking, running into the tiny kitchenette to grab a roll of paper towels. She peeked her head around the edge to make sure that Gaius wasn’t passed out on the floor, then began wetting a wad of the towels.

            “Let me take a look.” Robin said as she got down to her knees to get a better look, bringing the damp ball of paper towels close to his injured hand. He took a deep and sharp breath through his teeth when Robin pulled the bloody layers off of him, revealing a deep gash across most of his palm and part of his index finger. “Gods, Gaius. This is _deep_.” Blood was welling up faster than she could wipe it off, and soon both of them were covered in the hot and sticky mess.

            “Yeah.”

            “Yeah? That’s it? Get your coat. I’m taking you to the ER.” Her voice was severe and stern, but Gaius just shrugged.

            “I don’t need a coat.” He stood up, taking another wad of dry towels to wrap around his hand, then took the roll under the crook of his arm. “I don’t want to bleed all over Myrtle.” His smile, usually cocky and confident, was shaking. She could tell that he was in pain even though he was trying so hard to hide it from her.

            “I don’t care about blood on my seats. I care about making sure you don’t get a weird infection that makes your hand fall off!” Robin grabbed him by the elbow and began yanking him towards the door. He reluctantly followed, knowing that any resisting Robin would be futile. She was stubborn as all Hell, and he had to agree. The cut was deep and every breath made it throb more and more.

            “My hand isn’t going to fall off!” The raising of his voice sent another shock of pain up his arm, causing him to let out a string of curses while Robin tried to apply some sort of pressure to his wound. To anyone walking by they would look like a couple holding hands, albeit a strange one. Between them they could see blood dripping onto the pavement through the paper towels, soaking onto both of their hands.

            “This is against every first aid protocol…” Robin muttered under her breath, and for the first time since her Freshman year she was _pissed_ about parking so far away. “We’re almost there. Just relax.”

            “I think you’re the one that needs to relax.” Gaius had an eyebrow raised, his mouth curled into a cocky smile that she just wanted to punch off of his face. “It’s just my hand.” But, she seemed to be ignoring him as she continued dragging him towards the parking garage.

            “Bubbles.” He said, but she didn’t answer. “ _Robin.”_ This time she stopped dead in her tracks, turning around to look him dead in the eyes. In the darkness they looked more gray than green, and he looked like he was staring right into her chest. “I’m going to be fine. Don’t worry.” It was easy for him to say, but there was _something_ inside of her that was causing her to worry so much. She tried to wrack her brain for a reason, but she couldn’t find one. She just knew that she was sick to her stomach with worry and Naga be damned she was going to get him to the ER.

            “I know. But just let me take care of you.” She just then realized that they had stopped walking, and her heart began racing again. “Just let me.” There was a certain kind of pain in her face, a kind that Gaius couldn’t help but notice. He took a deep breath and nodded, putting on a smile for her so that maybe she wouldn’t feel so panicked.

            “Yeah. Let’s go.” Time seemed to fly as he and Robin got into her car, and she was going down the highway at nearly the speed of light. It was late and the air was cold and Gaius was bleeding in her passenger’s seat. In her day-to-day driving she never went more than five over the speed limit, but at the moment the traffic laws weren’t at the top of her list of priorities. When she finally pulled into a parking spot at the hospital, she looked over to see Gaius using his good hand to keep a vice grip on the armrest. “Was that necessary?”

            “Time’s a ticking. Your hand could fall off at _any_ second.”

            “You have a morbid obsession with disembodied hands, don’t you?” Gaius poked her in the side with his good hand as he exited the car, causing her to emit a high-pitched squeak. “Ticklish. I’ll make a note of that.”

            “You most certainly will not. Now, let’s go before I disembody your hand _myself_.” Before Gaius could protest, she was dragging him again. The entrance to the ER was protected by a sleepy security guard and an ancient-looking metal detector. Robin didn’t think it would be a problem to get through, but the guard seemed to pop awake right as Gaius was about to cross the threshold.

            “What’s that?” He was referring to the bump in the ginger’s pocket, but Robin assumed that it was just candy. “I’m going to need to take a look.”

            “He’s _bleeding_.” Robin protested, though when she took a look at the bump it didn’t look like any kind of candy she had ever seen. She had a deep sinking feeling in her chest, especially since Gaius wasn’t saying anything.

            “People come in here bleeding all the time. I still have to check them.” The guard got out from behind the desk and began patting Gaius down before he pulled a beautiful and intricate golden necklace out of the offending pocket. The boy’s face was white, though Robin’s was just as pale. There were so many things that she was thinking, and none of them were good. If he had been stealing again, she didn’t know what to say. He never said that he had ever stopped, but it was incredibly unsettling. She wanted to swallow the negative thoughts down, but they kept crawling their way back up her throat. Her stomach was in knots and she felt like she was going to throw up. The guard looked at both of them, not making any sounds and looking incredibly guilty, and the look on his face was demanding answers.

            “I didn’t want her to know.” Gaius grumbled, and the guard frowned.

            “Didn’t want her to know what?”

            “Look, sir. I understand this is a security measure but he’s bleeding all over the floor, and he’s pale and looks like he’s going to pass out.” Robin was bullshitting out of her ass, though he was looking paler than normal, and a little green around the edges.

            “Does this necklace belong to you?” The guard asked, and Robin sighed heavily.

            “It’s mine. He didn’t want me to know that he was getting a new chain for it for my birthday. Unfortunately he’s not as clever as he thinks he is.” The guard seemed to buy her explanation, though she wasn’t sure why she was defending him. He was bleeding and had a mysterious necklace in his pocket and all the signs pointed to a theft gone wrong. She wanted to scream at him and shout and throw a fit, but she kept silent. The feeling in her stomach, the one that was terrified of him being hurt, was still as loud as it was back in the dorm.

            “Look, Bubbles…”

            “Save it.” She snapped as she talked with the nurse to get him admitted. She thanked the gods silently under her breath, as the waiting room was quite empty. At least he wouldn’t be sitting there for another three hours while his hand gushed everywhere.

            “It’s not what you think.”

            “Look, Gaius. I understand. I’m more concerned with getting you fixed up than what you did.” He opened his mouth, then closed it again with an exasperated huff. A nurse was coming towards them, and they both figured that that meant it was time to stop arguing. Robin was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and her ears were ringing from the massive headache that was forming in her temples. She was blocking out everything that was going on, pressing the pads of her fingers to the afflicted flesh, only snapping out of it when she heard her name.

            “Robin.” It was Gaius, and it was still strange to hear him call her by her real name. At first the nickname he had given her annoyed her. But now it was like a comfy pair of pants, nice to slip into after a long day. There was a doctor working on his hand, sewing black stitches into the skin to seal the wound. It was fascinating and disgusting all at once, and she was captivated by it until he called her name again.

            “Yeah?” She looked up at him, his free hand balled into a fist on his thigh. “You okay?”

            “Peachy.” He swallowed hard and swung his hand back, letting the necklace fall into her lap. “That’s for you.”

            “Gaius, I can’t accept it.” She didn’t look at it while she turned it over in her hands, instead she kept her eyes glued on his. “You need to return it.” He scoffed at her statement, looking off and away from her. She could tell that he was upset, but there wasn’t much else that she could do. Accepting the necklace would only be encouraging bad habits.

            “I thought you said you wouldn’t think less of me because of what I’ve done.” Gaius clenched his jaw and dug his nails deep into his palm. He was close to drawing blood, but he didn’t care. He was already in a hospital with an injured hand, might as well add a second.

            “I don’t think less of you. But I can’t keep this necklace!”

            “I made it, Bubbles.” He finally turned to look her in the eye, and she could see how much hurt he was carrying in his face. It was so strange to see him like that, considering he had such a cool and refreshing demeanor most of the time. “I made it for you.”

            “Oh.” Was all she could say. She felt like _shit_ for assuming the worst, and she knew deep down that _that_ was the reason she hadn’t introduced Gaius to her other friends. She was embarrassed. Gaius was a good friend to her and she had just accused him of stealing when he was giving her a gift. “But… why?”

            “I thought you would like it, and that you would keep my secret.”

            “So it’s a bribe?” Her tone was wary, though after a few seconds of thought she came to the conclusion that a bribe was better than a theft.

            “No. Bubbles. Gods. Just take the necklace. I’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into it. Though, the blood came last.” He seemed to bounce back after his joke, giving a little wink at the end of his sentence. “I was trying to keep it a secret. I hurt myself while finishing it. I wanted to give it to you at… a better time.” He shrugged, watching as the doctor put the last layer of bandages on his patched-up hand.

            “You’re free to go. Don’t get it wet for the first 24 hours. Apply antibiotic ointment twice a day. If the stitches reopen, or if you see any discharge, come back as soon as possible.” The doctor gave one last nod and then ducked out of the curtained-off stall, leaving the two alone again.

            “Oh.” It seemed that that was all Robin could say, even as Gaius hopped down from the bed. The blood was gone from both of their hands but she still felt _dirty_. He was her friend and he trusted her and she treated him like shit because he happened to have a murky past. She wanted to question him, ask him what a better time would be or why he made her such a beautiful and expensive looking necklace. But all she could do was swallow and stare. “They gave you painkillers. You’ll need to take them with food… I’ll keep watch on you for the night.”

            “I don’t need a babysitter, Bubbles.” A wave of relief washed over her when her nickname came out of his mouth, though she still felt tense inside. He was walking slowly, his head still woozy from the blood loss and the pain, but Robin kept the pace with him.

            “I’m not babysitting you. I’m making sure you’re okay. Plus the painkillers will knock you out. I don’t need you falling out of bed or something because you couldn’t find the edge.”

            “But if I fell, at least I’d have painkillers.” He snickered, though his quip wasn’t that funny. Or funny at all. Robin pat him on the back and rubbed a circle on it to try to soothe him. It was a _strange_ gesture to say the least. But it was late and he was hurting and he wasn’t backing away from her touch. “Bubbles, look.”

            “I’m staying. I’m your friend and that’s what friends do.” The way she looked into his eyes nearly scared him. Her face was filled with such a passion and a sharp edge, and he knew that he had already lost the battle before it had even begun. The streetlamps outside were illuminating her in a way that reminded him of the night that they first met. There was something captivating and devastating about her beauty, and the way that she was so hardheaded and determined and tactical.

            “Okay.” He said, giving her a shrug to let her know that he was done and that she had won.

            “Okay?”

            “Yeah. Okay.” He kicked at a pebble on the ground while he waited for her to unlock her car, but she was just staring back at him.

            “You sure it’s okay?”

            “If you say ‘okay’ one more time, I think someone will think we’re trying to rip off that cancer book.” Gaius cracked a small smile and Robin rolled her eyes in return, finally unlocking his door so that he could slide into the passenger’s seat of her car. “Thanks for taking me here, Bubbles.”

            “I couldn’t let you bleed to death in your dorm room, Gaius.” It was true. She would have taken him no matter how close they were. He was in trouble and needed help and she was in a position to provide it. That’s just who Robin was, and it was one of the traits that her father had tried relentlessly to squelch out of her.

            “I wasn’t going to bleed to death.” Gaius pouted, looking out the window with sleepy eyes. It was early in the morning now, they had been inside the hospital for a lot longer than either of them had thought, and morning classes were looming in the distance. Robin took a quick side-eyed look at him, trying to keep her eyes on the road at the same time. “But my hand might have fallen off.” He raised an eyebrow and looked directly at her, and he managed to elicit laughter from the worried Robin.

            “That’s a very real concern, Gaius.”

            “So I take it you’re not a pre-med.” He was cracking himself up now, and Robin couldn’t help but follow along. Soon they were sitting at a red light, laughing so hard that their ribs were cramping and their faces were sore. It was a real, deep, haven’t-gotten-enough-sleep laughter that filled the car, and Robin couldn’t even remember why they had started laughing in the first place.

            For the first time in over a year, Robin parked in the Purple lot so that they would be close to the entrance of their building. The air was crisp and cool around them, so much so that Robin had both of her hands in her coat pockets. Her fingers brushed over the cold metal of the necklace that Gaius had given her, its intricate details providing a sensation of textures under her fingertips.  A faint and slightly sad smile crept up on her face, her eyes focused down on the pavement. He looked over at her, catching a glimpse of her expression though he didn’t comment on it.

            They entered the building silently, and got into Gaius’ room without so much as a single word uttered between the two. Robin fixed him a peanut butter and (grape) jelly sandwich for him to eat with his medication, and he wolfed it down like it was the first thing that he had eaten in his life. She wondered when the last time he had eaten was, and figured that it was sometime way before he sliced his hand. Robin took a good, long glance at the bottle of pills that the doctor had given her for him, and dispensed the proper dosage.

            “You’re gonna feel like shit.” She said with a laugh, dropping the pills into his right hand so that he could take them.

            “Better than feeling like shit and being in pain.” He shrugged and she nodded back, watching as he swallowed the medicine down with a large gulp of water.

            “You’re lucky, you know that right?” Robin sat down on the edge of the bed, one hand pressed against the comforter to stabilize herself. “You could have cut nerves or tendons or something else.”

            “Yeah. But I didn’t.” He bit his lip and looked away, though there was still a crooked smile on his face like he was proud of it. Still, he closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath as a wave of drowsiness crashed over him. “You’re not going to watch me while I sleep, are you?”

            “Not unless you want me to?” She raised an eyebrow, looking him over as he sat with his back against the headboard. He was still wearing the headband, the loose end flopping around his face in a manner that would drive Robin absolutely up a wall. She wondered how he dealt with it. On his wrist, the black cloth wristband had returned to block the scar that he bore. He took a deep breath and tilted his head back against the particleboard furniture, his eyes closed and soft and sad.

            “Whatever floats your boat.” He tried to scooch over, though his vision was doubling and he couldn’t focus on her face for shit. The drugs had set in quick and she could tell that he was as high as a kite but at least he wasn’t in pain. She was confused as to why he was moving and was going to question, but his arms wrapped around her waist. Before she knew it she was _in_ the bed with him, her face bright red. Her chest began to ache, and she had realized that she was holding her breath.

            “Gaius!” Robin squealed, but he had her wrapped up in the tiny twin bed. She knew it was the drugs talking, but there had to be something there for him to act on it.

            “You’re my best friend, Bubbles.” Gaius said with a yawn. He released her and rolled over, though Robin laid there frozen in place for a few seconds while she tried to figure out exactly what was going on. She was going to get up, but the bed was comfortable and warm and she was incredibly tired.

 _A little nap couldn’t hurt…_ she thought, and somehow the logic all made sense in her sleep deprived head. After all, if Cordelia and Sumia could make out as _just friends_ then she could sleep next to an injured friend with no repercussions. She found quite quickly that Gaius was like a furnace, so she peeled off her part of the blankets and shut her eyes. She had her back pressed against his, both of them facing opposite ways, but just as Robin was about to doze off he rolled back over and wrapped an arm around her, his head nestled close to her. _Damn drugs_ she thought before she finally drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I have a reputation for having the main pairing of the fic boning pretty early in.... but this fic is going to be different. There will be boning. Just not yet. 
> 
> If you like what you read, leave some kudos. I love comments as well, and you can always reach me on tumblr. My URL is Safraninflare. Let me know what you think, as I love hearing feedback. This fic has become my baby, and I'm so glad it's going over so well!


	3. Wonderstruck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an exhilarating night and a disastrous morning, Robin finds that she has conflicting feelings about the situation she has gotten herself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading, just a general warning. If you have emetophobia, please take caution while reading. No one actually vomits in the chapter, but there are characters who experience anxiety-driven nausea. If that is something that bothers you, please take caution while reading.

            Later that night Robin was lying on the floor of her living room, staring at the ceiling while Maribelle painted her nails and Cordelia looked on while skimming through a magazine. They were getting ready for a night at Chrom’s, even though there wasn’t much to get ready for. They were seeing the same people that they saw nearly every day. But still, Maribelle had insisted on them having perfectly polished nails. “What has you down, darling?” The blonde asked as she finished off Robin’s right hand, her nails now coated with an M&M green lacquer. Robin pulled herself up to a sit, which caused a frown from Maribelle. She nearly smudged fresh polish all over the carpet, which would have been a _disaster_.

            “Nothing! It’s nothing.” She let out a sigh, surrendering her left hand for another coat of paint. Neither of the other two girls were buying Robin’s answer, in fact they were both openly glaring at her. Cordelia put her magazine down, her fingers messing with the corner of the page as she looked Robin dead in the eye.

            “You’re not a good liar, Robin.”

            “Not even close.” Maribelle was nodding along with Cordelia, the two agreeing on something for once. Robin looked between the two girls, both of them expectant and worried. Gossip was common in their circle. It was never mean or excessive, but it happened. It was just human nature. “You’ve been glum and boring all day!”

            “You weren’t in Calc this morning either.” Cordelia nodded, peering back down to her magazine. It was strange to see her without a textbook in hand, but it was a nice change. Even geniuses need to have fun. “You never miss class.”

            “I overslept.” Technically it wasn’t a lie. She had overslept, just not in her own bed and not of her own accord. “Look, there’s nothing going on.”

            “Really, Robin. We need to get you some lessons on lying. Is this a _boy_ by any chance?” Maribelle leaned in close and fluttered her eyelashes, but the puppydog face wasn’t working. There was a knot of confusion and mixed feelings stuck in the pit of Robin’s stomach and she didn’t even know how to attempt to untie it.

            “Why does it always have to be a boy, Maribelle?” Her arms were crossed tight across her chest, though her hands were sticking out in order to keep from smudging her nail polish.

            “Girl?”

            “Maribelle, it’s nothing. It’s my fault anyway.” She swallowed hard, her brain wanting to shut down on itself. There it was, out in the open. “It’s about my friend, Gaius.”

            “The one with the jacket?” Cordelia was looking up from the magazine again, her red hair flopping in her face and spilling everywhere. Robin’s face crinkled in frustration, even though her friend was right on the money. But then again, there was no way to slip anything past either girl.

            “Tell me more.” Maribelle was practically on top of Robin now, her elbows resting on the other girl’s knees to try to milk every last drop of information from her. It was suffocating to say the least, but there was no way that she was going to get out of this now.

            “I think I might…” Robin sighed and put her head in her hands, the words stuck in her throat like saltine crackers and peanut butter. They were suffocating and choking her, dragged down by the knot in her stomach and the butterflies in her chest. “I’m sorry.”

            “Robin, spit it out.” The blonde was getting impatient now, but every time Robin opened her mouth to say something she choked on her words. She tried to swallow down the lump in her throat but it just seemed to get bigger and bigger. “Are you all right?”

            “Forget it.” Robin got up and walked into the bathroom, Maribelle and Cordelia staring at her back until she disappeared behind the door. Her chest was feeling tight, to the point where she thought she was going to vomit. Her back was pressed against the door, but she slid to the floor and sat there, holding her phone in her hands. There was so much going through her mind. Yes, she had slept in the same bed with Gaius. But that didn’t mean that she had to have feelings for him. But still there was _something_ that she couldn’t shake, and that was the only thing that made sense.

            “Robin?” Cordelia said as she knocked on the bathroom door. She could feel the vibrations against her head but she still wasn’t planning on coming out. “Are you okay?”

“Just a minute, Cordy.” Her hands shook as she dug through her contacts to find his number, filed under “Gaius McSexypants” courtesy of the sexypants himself. Robin had thought it funny at first, if not childish, but now made her feel strange.

            “Robin?” She swallowed when he answered using her real name. They hadn’t exactly left on good terms earlier that morning, so she should have expected it. Even though she had, it still struck her right at her chest.

            “What are you doing in an hour?”

            “Chocolate and video games. Why?” There was a pause between them, Robin was taking deep breaths while she tried to work up the courage to get her words out.

            “One of my friends is having a thing. And I want you to come. With me. Room 456. In an hour. From now.” She swallowed hard, so much so that it was probably audible on the other end. There was another pause, this one longer and filled with more suspense. For every millisecond of silence Robin was sure that another five years were being shaved off of her lifespan.

            “Do I have to dress up?” It wasn’t a no, in fact it was halfway to a yes. She tipped her head back against the door, her eyes half closed.

            “I’m wearing leggings and fuzzy socks. So, no.”

            “That’s what I was going to wear. Thanks for letting me know. That would have been embarrassing.” There was a chuckle on his end, though soft and subtle. It made Robin crack a smile even though no one could see it while she was locked away between the door and the toilet with only her phone. “I’ll be there, Bubbles.”

            “Good. Good. I’ll see you, Gaius.” She didn’t wait for a goodbye before she hung up the phone, holding it between both of her hands like it was a precious artifact composed of gold and diamonds and the tears of Naga herself.

            “Who are you talking to?” The voice wasn’t from Cordelia but from Maribelle, who had joined the redhead outside the bathroom door. Robin still didn’t answer, instead she stood up and opened the door, which caused both of her friends to fall to the ground on top of each other. “This isn’t what it looks like. A lady _never_ snoops.”

            “You’ll find out. Until then, Maribelle can you do that thing with my hair?” Robin wasn’t sure what the style was called, so she resorted to pantomiming what she thought it looked like. Thankfully the blonde was very adept at reading Robin’s gesticulating and a wide and slightly devious grin grew on her face.

            “Of course, darling. Cordelia, grab some bobbie pins… And maybe some hairspray.” Maribelle was looking at Robin like a wildcat stalking her pray, and it was vaguely unsettling but also exciting. She could already feel the flutters in her chest growing, could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks. Cordelia nodded and dashed out of the hall to Robin’s room. A crash came from inside, and for a moment they wondered if she had been taking lessons from Sumia.

            “Robin, you really need to clean in here!” her voice was muffled by something, and when she remerged from the room with a scarf wrapped around her ankle like a boa trying to squeeze the life out of her. “I nearly died in there.” Still, she handed the box of hairpins to Maribelle, who quickly went to work popping them open with her teeth to ease the application into Robin’s hair.

            “I’ve been busy. Midterms.” Robin gave a shrug and began winding her finger idly around the chain on her neck. The pendant, formerly resting beneath the knit of her sweater, came popping out with a tinkle and a ting. Cordelia was the first to catch sight of it, as she was facing Robin directly, and immediately a smirk grew on her face.

            “Did _Gaius_ give you that?” She asked, her tone singsong and schoolgirl when she aid his name. She was definitely intending to tease, though there was a look of genuine intrigue in her eyes. The teasing caught Maribelle’s attention, and she stopped halfway through a curl with a bobbie pin sticking out of her mouth.

            “A gift from your gentleman caller? Show me!” Robin thought they were both overreacting. It was a necklace—not an engagement ring. Still they were happy for her and she had to accept that. She just hoped that no one would embarrass her in front of Gaius. They knew her better than she even knew herself sometimes. There were even moments where Robin couldn’t remember her life before meeting Chrom and his friends. They were her family now, since her father was a royal dick and her mother had passed long ago. She didn’t know how Gaius would fit in with them—if they would like him or if he would even like them. Hell, Robin didn’t even know if he _liked_ her. She could be bringing him to the metaphorical family dinner when all he wanted was to play video games with her and talk about the superiority of blow pops over tootsie pops.

            Robin pulled the pendant out of her shirt and held it up for the girls to inspect, especially Maribelle with her discerning eye. “Where did he get this?” she said as she held it between her fingers. Her thumb ran over the raised gem in the center, a deep green that nearly matched the color of Gaius’ eyes.

            “He made it.” Robin swallowed the lump in her throat as she covered the pendant with her hand only seconds after Maribelle dropped it. She had an eyebrow raised, not even paying attention to Robin’s hair any longer. However, it wasn’t a look of disgust but a look of being _impressed_.

            “Made it? This is _gorgeous._ Darling, and you’re just now thinking that you might like him?”

            “He only gave it to me last night.” She gave a shrug, but Maribelle and Cordelia looked at each other and then back to Robin with the widest eyes she had ever seen. “What?”

            “You were with him _last night_?” Maribelle had a hand pressed to her chest like it was keeping in the air she was breathing. Robin was concerned that she might just faint, but Cordelia distracted her quite quickly.

            “Is that why you weren’t in calculus this morning?”

            “You two jump to conclusions _way_ too fast.” Robin crossed her arms over her chest and made the poutiest face she could muster up. It was true. She had been with Gaius, but not like _that_. “He cut his hand and I took him to get stitches. They had him on medication so I was watching him for the night.”

            “Robin has a _crush_.” Cordelia’s voice was singsong and teasing, and she knew that she would never hear the end of it once Chrom and Olivia got word of this. The thought of Chrom made her look down at her phone, noticing the time was ticking by.

            “We’ve got ten minutes.” She held the phone screen up for them to see, but it vibrated in her hand before she could block the message coming through.

8:59PM Are you home? Coming to meet you.

            Before Robin could see, the two girls looked at each other again with a giggle. Robin’s face was completely red by the time she looked down to see the message, typing out a quick response for him to run while he could but that she was home and couldn’t wait to see him. Cordelia and Maribelle were still giggling when Gaius knocked on the door, but thankfully Robin’s hair was perfectly in place before she opened it. “Hey.” She said, stepping out into the hallway to close the door behind her so that the other two wouldn’t spy.

            “You look nice. What’s behind the door?” He was standing there nonchalantly, his hands in his pockets and a lollipop stick hanging out of his mouth. Her eyes were fixated on it, the way that it bobbed when he talked and how he even managed to do both at the same time. He popped it out to reveal that it was indeed a blow pop, watermelon flavored, though it didn’t stay out for long. She realized that she had been staring too long when he cracked a smile at her, his eyebrows raised as if he were waiting for something.

            “A Lady and a genius who think they know everything there is to know about us. And maybe Tharja somewhere in there.” Robin could hear faint giggling behind the door, and she rolled her eyes immediately. She gave Gaius the universal signal for one moment, then took the time to open the door and send Maribelle and Cordelia to the floor again.

            “Delia I told you. Snooping is _very_ unladylike.”

            “I’m so sorry, Maribelle. I’ll refrain from doing it in the future.” The two looked at each other and laughed again, the sound echoing even after Robin closed the door again.

            “Sorry about them.” Her eyes were glued to the ground, a blush of embarrassment rosing its way onto her cheeks while he looked her over.

            “Still wearing the necklace I see.” He bit down on his lollipop, sending the sound of the crunch between them to snap Robin out of the haze that she had somehow floated into yet again. They were standing quite close, closer than they had been before and Robin wondered when exactly one of them had moved. Gaius chewed on the gum for several seconds, looking as if he was pondering his very existence, before he blew a bubble so large that it nearly hit Robin in the nose. She flinched as it popped over his face, but he didn’t seem particularly perturbed. He simply peeled it off and wrapped the scrap of gum back into the wrapper that the lollipop had originally been in.

            “You didn’t keep it?” Robin asked, “The gum. You argue that blow pops are superior but you chewed the gum for two seconds.”

            “It isn’t about the gum, Bubbles.” He crumpled up the gum wad and looked around for a trashcan, but they were in the hall and there was nothing around that could appropriately be used to throw things away. With a sigh, Robin opened her door and let him in. This time Cordelia and Maribelle were on the couch looking through their phones. It looked like the spying was over for the night—they didn’t even try to sneak one measly peek. “It’s about the texture. The quality of the candy. The shape. The mouthfeel. That, and tootsie rolls are the candy that you give a friend to let them know that you are _no longer friends_.”

            “Duly noted.” Robin nodded and watched as the ginger leaned up against the wall, looking effortless and cool even without his lollipop cigarette. “We should probably head upstairs.” Her volume grew, trying to get the attention of the girls, but they were wrapped up with something.

            “We’ll meet you up there.” Cordelia said, and Robin gave a slight nod before fishing her keys out of the pocket of her ever-present hoodie. She made sure she had the redhead’s attention before she tossed her keys to her, then headed to the door.

            “Lock up on your way out. I’ll see you in a few.” Robin gave them one last wave and exited into the hallway with Gaius, who was slightly puzzled from the goings-on in the room. “I’m sorry about that.”

            “Were they spying on us?” Gaius cracked a smile and a small chuckle escaped his lips, but his face quickly fell back to his normal and indifferent expression.

            “They’re harmless. They just want to see me happy.”

            “And they think you’d be happy with me?” He had no expression, nothing that she could read or any signals that she could interpret. She was all about strategies and anticipating next moves and there was nothing for her to go on. It unnerved her, especially since the comment made her wonder if she had been imagining the entire thing between them. “Hm.”

            “Hm?” She repeated his grunt, though she was more questioning. Still, he didn’t say anything as they walked down the hallway, ending at the fork between the staircase and the elevator. “Which one?”

            “Doesn’t matter. I hurt my hand, not my feet.” He gave a shrug, and Robin decided that they would take the stairs simply because it was only a floor and half the time the elevator smelled like pee and weed. They were walking up the stairs and Robin’s hand brushed against Gaius’ for a fraction of a second, her heart nearly stopping while a jolt of ice shot through her veins. She looked over at him, wondering if he had felt it too, but he was looking ahead of him and not at her.

            Part of her wanted to be daring and grab it. If Pat Benatar was right and love _was_ a battlefield, she would know it like the back of her hand. She would grab his hand and walk with him. She’d look him in the eyes every so often while walking, keeping a watch on the opposing army. She would use her leverage, get him close to the wall, make eye contact and wouldn’t break it. His heart would be racing, the beat matching hers and before he knew what had hit him her lips would be on his. Her kiss would be like a dagger to his heart, the enemy unit down for the count and hers for the taking. But, this wasn’t a battlefield and they weren’t soldiers. They were two kids in the hallway of a dorm building on their way to another dorm room, two friends that might not even be more than that. So, she swallowed the idea down like thick and bitter cough syrup and kept her hands shoved in the pockets of her sweatshirt. It was safer that way.

            “So where are we going?” Gaius asked, finally breaking the silence between them while opening a Snickers bar with his teeth. Robin looked up at him, swallowing laughter from the ridiculous look he had on his face while he wrestled with the thin plastic, her eyes focused on him.

            “Chrom’s.”

            “Chrom like…” Gaius quit attacking the chocolate to pantomime a crown, gaining a nod from Robin. He seemed to have a thoughtful look on his face as he took a bite into the candy bar, though she couldn’t quite read what he was thinking. “Is he going to be okay with that?”

            “He’s been wanting to meet you. I’ve been talking about you a lot.” Robin gave a shrug and looked over at his chocolate, absent-mindedly licking her lips though she wasn’t sure if it was because of the sweets or because she couldn’t get the idea of kissing him out of her head. “That sounded creepy.”

            “I’m a very exciting person.” He winked at her before taking another bite, savoring the flavor and the textures like it was such an extravagant experience and not cheap candy bar from the vending machine. “Can’t blame ya, Bubbles. But are we going to stand out here or are we going in?”

            Robin bit down on her thumbnail, trying to think of what to say. On one hand, there was still time to run away. On the other, she could be brave and finally introduce Gaius to her friends. She wanted to make a decision, though another thought was creeping up in the back of her mind. They had been standing out there for at least five minutes, and neither Cordelia nor Maribelle had shown up. It was strange, especially since Maribelle was _never_ late. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

            She reached out and banged a few knocks on the door, before she heard Vaike shout that it was open. So _he_ was going to be there. Robin rolled her eyes and opened the door, Gaius following behind her. Inside there were already a few people sitting on the ground and playing cards. Lissa was with Sumia, Lon’qu discussing something with Vaike. Olivia was casually conversing with Frederick, while Chrom chatted with Stahl. Then across the way she spotted Virion, the silver tongued Valmese duke, with a beautiful pink haired girl. They were talking about something or other, though no one really seemed to notice as Gaius and her entered. Robin cleared her throat loudly, and everyone quieted, turning to look at her.

            “Everyone… I wanted to introduce you to my friend… Gaius.” She looked over at him, though he didn’t seem to have any look of shock or surprise on his face. Instead he was unwrapping yet another lollipop, looking around at everyone. “Gaius, this is Olivia, Frederick, Vaike, Lon’qu, Chrom, Stahl, Lissa, Sumia, Virion, and….”

            “Cherche.” The pink haired girl said, a sweet and warm smile on her face. Robin nodded and turned back to Gaius, still looking severely underwhelmed.

            “Cherche.” Gaius gave her a nod, the stick of the lollipop hanging out of his mouth while a smirk grew on his face.

            “Got it.” He was going to open his mouth to say something else, but Chrom walked over to the pair, his normal dopey smile plastered on his visage. Robin had gotten used to it over the year—the doofy smile and his horrific fashion sense and the fact that he was so trusting. “Oh, hey Blue.”

            “Blue?” Chrom looked rather confused, but he still was smiling. “It’s nice to meet you. Robin’s told me a lot about you.”

            “Bragging about me, Bubbles?” He poked Robin in the ribs, causing her to squeak and blush. “She’s told me a bit about you too.” They began a conversation between the two of them while Robin stood there, focused on the pink that had flooded her cheeks. The only person who had seemed to notice was Frederick, who came over with a concerned expression.

            “Milady, are you feeling all right? You look flushed.” Frederick, though he had been incredibly wary of her when they first met grew to take care of her in the same way that he looked after Chrom and Lissa. He was a good friend, though she didn’t want him to see her like this.

            “Hm? I’m… F-fine.” Robin sighed and looked off in the direction of Chrom and Gaius, who were discussing some film or other. It was interesting to see them interact. It was like they were even getting along. “Have you heard anything from Cordy or Maribelle?”

            “They regretted to inform me that they wouldn’t be attending tonight.” Frederick gave a small frown, especially since she was looking off into the distance and looking even more nervous than she had before.

            “Shit. They have my keys.” Robin pushed the hair off of her forehead with the flat of her palm, swallowing a large lump in her throat. They had been prepping for this for hours and now they were ditching? Something was wrong and she had no clue why.

            “You’re welcome to stay here for the night, milady.” Of course Frederick would offer. There had been multiple times where she crashed in the dorm with Chrom and him, though it was always so strange. Frederick, being the loyal steward that he was, always let Robin sleep in his bed while he took the couch. She always insisted that the couch or even the floor would be fine, but he would never budge. He took his job way too seriously. She wasn’t even his royalty to serve.

            “It’s… all right. Tharja will probably be home. I’ll just get her to let me in.” Robin bit her lip, thinking of any other thing that she could do _but_ that. Still, nothing came up. Her eyes wandered over to Virion and Cherche, still trying to figure out what their relation was. Virion had brought girls around before, but they always seemed stiff and out of place. Cherche didn’t look like she felt awkward around Virion, nor did she put up with any of the shit that he happened to come out with. Frederick caught her staring, and sighed.

            “She’s a childhood friend of his. Though by the look in his eyes she seems to be more than just a friend.” His arms were crossed over his chest, and Robin nodded in response. It made sense. Still, Virion’s relationships never lasted longer than a bag of candy around Gaius. “Though she isn’t the only one with those eyes tonight.” Frederick looked back at Robin, whose eyes immediately widened.

            “I… I can explain.” She immediately threw out, but Frederick just shook his head and looked back to Chrom and Gaius, who were now playing cards. A wave of relief washed over her, as they seemed to be getting along, but it only meant that Chrom and Gaius could be friends. It didn’t necessarily mean that he had feelings for Robin as well. Her hand went to the pendant sitting above her chest, her fingers curling around it while she watched him smile and laugh even though he hadn’t seen her.

            “No need for explanations, Milady.” He sighed heavily and looked back over to Robin. “I could talk to him if you would like.”

            “No!” Robin’s face was red again, this time she covered it with her hands while she tried to come down from the mortification. If she had something to throw, she probably would. “No… I don’t know if he feels the same for me, Frederick.”

            “He seems to be getting along with milord.” Now they were both looking over at the pair, Chrom complaining about having to pick up the deck due to his mistake. Gaius was chuckling, though for a split second he looked over at the blushing Robin and gave her a wink. “And I heard he gifted you a special necklace.”

            “Word travels fast around here, doesn’t it?” Robin gave Gaius a small smile and a wave, then turned back to Frederick. She had only received the necklace last night; she hadn’t been wearing it for very long and only told Chrom about it earlier that same day. It was slightly embarrassing how invested her friends were in this. She knew that they wanted to see her happy, especially after a year of failed attempts at hookups and blind dates when Robin only cared about shoving her nose in a new volume. Her eyes quickly darted over to Vaike, who was flexing in front of Sumia while she looked incredibly uncomfortable. The year before had been messy while Robin got on her feet in Ylisse, the only thing helping her were the friends that she had made.

            “You know how Princess Lissa gossips.” Frederick gave a sigh, then placed a ginger and friendly hand on Robin’s shoulder. “I hope all goes well for you, milady.”

            “Thank you, Frederick.” Robin gave him a smile and then took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking as she walked over to Chrom and Gaius, who were still playing their card game. The prince was twisting the ring on his finger off, ready to place it in the center when Frederick saw it and raised an eyebrow.

            “Milord, it isn’t wise to bet that ring. It was crafted for you on the day of your birth.” Chrom wasn’t stupid, even if he could be a bit reckless. If he was putting down the ring, then Robin figured that he had some reason to. Being the woman that she was, she took a peek over his shoulder at his cards. He had a decent hand, though nothing spectacular. She couldn’t understand why he would bet the ring. She considered looking at Gaius’ cards, though she didn’t want to be accused of assisting either of them. Instead, she stood up next to Frederick and mimicked the frown on his face. It didn’t look like Gaius was going to up the stakes at all. After all he was a peasant boy and Chrom was a prince.

            “I know what I’m doing, Frederick.” Chrom bit his lip and placed the ring in the center, though Gaius never looked up from his cards even once. Robin’s palms began to sweat, the whole room silent while the two boys stared at her cards. “You ready?”

            “As ever, Blue.” Gaius crooked a smirk, the stick hanging out of his mouth like an unlit cigarette. He looked grisly and dangerous and sexy, a potent combination. They both looked at each other, then placed down their hands. Robin looked between them, trying to figure out what was going on. Gaius smirked and took the stack of coins, but Chrom plucked the ring off of the top of the pile and slipped it back onto his finger.

            “What was that?” She asked, looking between the two to try to discern some sort of body language from one of them that would let her know what in Naga’s name was going on. Both of them looked over at her and shrugged, as if nothing had happened. Instead, both of them stood up and looked over at her and Frederick.

            “You should bring him around more often.” Chrom said, giving the ginger a pat on the back. Gaius chuckled then walked over to Robin, slipping his arm around her waist. She felt her breathing damn near stop, wondering what he was doing. She could feel his warmth, but before she could enjoy it too much his fingers slipped to her ribs and tickled her. “Told you.”

            “Thanks for the tip, Blue. You’re not so bad yourself.” So they had been discussing where Robin was ticklish. She frowned and pouted and felt slightly betrayed. She thought that he was finally going to make a move, the move that she was too scared to make, but instead he had been debating her tickle spots with her best friend. “You having fun with Sir Frowny-Face, Bubbles?”

            Robin opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. She didn’t exactly know what to do, it was obvious to at least two of the people in the group that she was feeling _something_ , and for a moment all that she wanted to do was throw something. Instead, she walked over to Olivia, who was talking with Cherche. Robin sat down with them, completing the trio of pink haired women.

            “Hi… Robin.” Olivia gave a small smile and a hug, which definitely made Robin feel a lot better. “What’s going on over there?”

            “The boys are being boys. As usual.” Robin crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, though she felt bad about bringing the mood down around Cherche. “I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Robin.”

            “You’re the one from Plegia, right?” She had a sweet smile on her face, she genuinely looked like a nice person. She felt bad that she had been sucked into Virion’s ladykiller mess. Robin never really got to know any of the girls he brought around because they didn’t usually last long. Still, Robin nodded and began picking a chunk of lint off of her leggings. “Is your boyfriend from there too?”

            “Oh, he’s not my boyfriend.” Robin looked right up at her, but Cherche’s face never fell. “And no, he’s from Ylisse.”

            “Could have fooled me.” She sighed and looked over to Virion, who was speaking with Frederick about something or other. Olivia was sitting there and playing with her hair, braiding and unbraiding it between her fingers.

            “What’s it like being with Virion?” Robin asked in response, and she let out a small laugh. The girl didn’t have as thick of a Roseanni accent as Virion did, but it still came out in her laugh.

            “I’m the only one who can keep him in line.” Her eyes wandered back over to him, then darted right back to the girls. “He knows that if he doesn’t behave, he’ll be fed to my wyvern.” The whole time she had the widest smile on her face, and immediately Olivia and Robin felt _incredibly_ uncomfortable.

            “Oh. Well that’s… One way to do it.” Robin coughed, then stood up to go find Gaius again. It was getting late, and she still had no word from Maribelle or Cordelia about her keys. Gaius could get her into her room, she certainly had enough bobbie pins in her hair to crack the lock. But as she walked over to him her palms began to sweat and she could taste copper in her mouth. The stress was coming out of nowhere, she _shouldn’t_ be stressed. It was just Gaius.

            He was standing there, his back to her, while he talked to Chrom. Robin came up from behind him and tapped him on his shoulder, prompting him to turn around. He had a smile on his face—he was definitely glad to see her. “What’s up, Bubbles?”

            “I’m locked out of my room for the night.” She swallowed hard after the last syllable, everything in her boiling to the brim. “I was hoping you could help me.”

            “Yeah, of course Bubbles.” He gave her a nod, and she hadn’t even realized that he had turned to look right at her. Her hand flew to cover the necklace, after all she was rather embarrassed about it now. “You ready to go, then?”

            “Yeah…” her voice was barely above a whisper, causing Gaius to raise an eyebrow. He knew something was up with Robin, but he couldn’t exactly figure out what it was. They said their goodbyes to Chrom and the others, then started their walk back down to their floor. “How’s your hand holding up?”

            “Still hurts. But it’s not as bad.” He held up the bandaged hand, still pristine white. There weren’t any bloodstains leaking through it, so she took that as a good sign. “Thanks for inviting me, Bubbles.”

            “I’m glad you got along with everyone.” She cleared her throat, as the butterflies were threatening to come pouring out of her mouth. Being alone with him in the hallway was…. Strange to say the least. Everything had been strange since the night before. And Robin knew that it was mostly her fault. Gaius hadn’t made anything weird—she had done it all herself.

            They made it down the stairs quietly, but Robin was confused when they stopped at his door instead of hers. “Getting something?” she asked, and immediately he looked confused.

            “I thought you needed a place to crash?” Her stomach nearly dropped straight out of her butt. _Of course_. She ran a hand over her forehead to grip the hair at her crown, effectively messing up her hairstyle but giving her enough leverage to take a deep breath out.

            “I thought you were going to help me get into my room again.”

            “Shit! Of course. Robin, I’m sorry. I’m an idiot.” He bit his lip, shoving his hand in his pocket to get his keys out of the way. The look on his face was one of embarrassment, which she had _never_ seen on him. He was normally so calm and cool and effortless. Seeing him walk towards her door, she panicked and grabbed for his hand, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around to look at her, a confused expression on his face, when she had to blink back a few misplaced tears.

            “I mean. I don’t mind staying with you.” It took him a second to process her words, a second to fully turn his body around and readjust his grip. Robin’s heart was racing as he interlaced his fingers with hers, his hand soft and warm against it. A silence fell between them, though he stroked his thumb against her skin idly while they looked directly into each other’s eyes. She could see the steely gray inclusions in his irises, stark against the emerald background and shined over with exhaustion and _something else._

            “Your hands are cold.” He mumbled, though he still didn’t move. The way they were standing was so strangely intimate even though they were just holding hands. However, Robin’s thoughts began to face away. Her free hand reached up to cup his cheek. Instead of flinching back, he leaned into her touch; into her thumb grazing over his cheekbone, before wandering down to his lower lip. It was soft like rose petals underneath her finger, stained slightly red from the last lollipop he had devoured. Gaius was about to open his mouth to say something when Robin covered it with her own.

            He immediately dropped her hand, moving to place it on the back of her neck. His injured hand rested against the small of her back, ginger and careful and avoiding pressure to keep from hurting himself. However his heart was racing, so much so that he was scared that it was going to beat out of his chest. She had him pressed up against the wall, kissing him fiercely. She had lost herself in his touch, smiling as he nipped on her bottom lip, though he stopped himself just before she slipped her tongue inside. He pressed a kiss to the junction of her neck and jaw, just below her ear before he whispered her name in a low murmur. The words vibrated through her body, down her spine and into the tips of her toes. “Bubbles, I’ve been waiting for that for so long.” She pressed several more kisses to his lips, her breath catching in her throat.

            “I should turn you in for stealing my heart.” She whispered, nipping at his neck with a well-deserved smirk. He rolled his eyes at her quip, quickly breaking away to fish his keys back out of his pocket. She was slightly disappointed, but at the same time she wanted to find somewhere that was more comfortable than the wall outside in the hallway. Anyone could show up at any moment, but as soon as the door closed behind them Robin found herself pinned against it, Gaius’s lips back against hers. His fingers were threaded in her hair, effectively ruining what was left of Maribelle’s handiwork. They were lost in the kiss until the light flicked on, revealing a pretty blonde who looked utterly mortified. Gaius broke away and grumbled, taking Robin into his room while her cheeks were bright red.

            “Your roommate’s girlfriend is pretty.” Robin said, though Gaius began laughing. Robin couldn’t understand why, and he didn’t seem to be giving an answer. She sat down on the edge of his bed and kicked off her shoes, watching while he pulled his shirt off and over his head.

            “That’s my roommate. Easy mistake.” Robin looked him over, as his shirt was now off and on the floor with the others. She knew he was showing off at this point, but she didn’t mind. It was a nice view. Still, she sat on the bed, looking at him with a dopey smile. “He gets that a lot.”

            “Well, your roommate is very pretty.” Her heart began to race as Gaius got closer, nudging her onto her back so that he could climb on top of her. His kisses were rough and hungry, and her hands roamed the soft skin of his back. There was an excitement to it, an exhilaration that ran deep into her bones. Her hips were flush against his, pressing close enough to give her a warm sensation between her legs. Blood rushed to her face, making her cheeks pink and flush deep red when a hand made its way under Robin’s shirt. She sat up a little, pulling it off and casting it to the ground along with all of Gaius’ dirty clothes.

            His kisses moved from her lips to her neck, his lips and teeth leaving marks on her collarbone that made her squirm. “ _Gaius_ ,” she called, his name coming out with an exhale like a song in the wind. His lips were making their way down to her cleavage, pressed on the skin not covered by her deep purple bra, before he dipped down even lower to her stomach. Her heart was racing, she found her hand on the back of his head, guiding him. However, when he hooked his fingers in the band of her leggings she nudged him off and shook her head. “Not tonight.”

            He sat up and nodded, back, running a hand through his own hair. “Fair enough.”  
            “It’s not that… I mean I’m not… I just. I’m kind of tired.” Her words were falling out of her mouth like a waterfall and she wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to say. Still, he nodded and plopped down next to her, leaving a kiss on her bare shoulder.

            “You don’t need to explain. Need something to sleep in?” She nodded, watching him hop off the bed to grab another shirt from his dresser. He unbuttoned his jeans before he opened the drawer, kicking them off to leave him in a pair of boxers. She couldn’t help but blush a little, but he turned back to her and placed the shirt gingerly in her hands. There were so many things Robin wanted to say. She _did_ want to explain. She was tired, that was a fact. But even as she stood up and changed into Gaius’ shirt, slipping her bra out from underneath after the white cotton was already draped over her torso, she wasn’t sure if it was all of the fact.

            “Have you…?”

            “Yeah.” He swallowed, understanding her question even though she hadn’t finished. She smoothed down the front of the shirt and then climbed back into bed with him, resting her head on his bare chest. “Have you?”

            “Yeah. Once.” Gaius nodded, watching as Robin took his injured hand into hers. She pressed a kiss to it, his eyes closing to savor the feeling of her lips against his skin. Her touch was delicate, like he was a broken baby bird cast out of his nest instead of the 20 year old whose bed she was sharing. “Bad idea.”

            “Oh.” He pulled her into his arms, his body still as boiling hot as it had been the night before, but she didn’t mind much at all. “I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to.”

            “It wasn’t _that_ bad.” She chuckled a little bit and snuggled up to him, feeling the rise and fall of his chest under her head. Being close to him felt good, it felt _right_. She only wished that she had realized it sooner. “But I really am tired.”

            “Me too.” He leaned over a little bit to yank the chain on his lamp, sending the room into darkness. The only light in the room came from his alarm clock, though it wasn’t bright enough to bother her eyes. She started to close them, ready to fall asleep when a thought popped into her head.

            “Gaius?”

            “Yeah, Bubbles?” He looked straight into her eyes, warm and caring and soft. She reached her hand up to tuck a lock of his bright red hair behind his ear, though she ended up taking off his ridiculous headband and hung it on the bedpost. Her touch felt like ice and fire on his skin, like pure electricity running through his veins.

            “What are we going to call this? Are we going to call it anything?” Robin swallowed as the nervousness bubbled up in her throat, dying to come out in word vomit and broken sentences and uncertainty. Her head was against his chest, his chin on the top of her head with the wispy cotton candy colored hairs tickling at his cheeks.

            “What do you want to call it?” He swallowed as well. For a few weeks now he had thought about kissing her, about having her in his arms. But now that he was here he didn’t know what to do after it. He wanted to be able to call her his girlfriend, wanted her to call him her boyfriend. It was such a strong feeling but he kept his mouth shut. Now that he was here he didn’t want to poison the waterhole with his selfish thoughts.

            “I was thinking Morgan maybe. That’s a good name. Oh. You mean us?” She giggled a little bit at her own joke, though she knew it was lame. “Would you be mine, Gaius?” It felt like her heart was going to explode, but she didn’t have to wait long. He pressed a tender kiss to her lips, still tasting of cherries and red dye and everything sweet.

            “I would love to, Bubbles.” He kissed her forehead—the last kiss for the night, then closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for both of them to drift off to sleep, their hearts beating in tandem in the dark of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you got down to here, thank you for reading! If you enjoyed what you read, please leave kudos or a comment telling me what you liked! I enjoy hearing feedback from y'all, hearing what you liked and disliked. 
> 
> If you like, you can check me out on tumblr. My URL is now Safraninflare. Thanks again for reading!


	4. The Hanged Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things heat up between Robin and Gaius, who have just confessed their feelings for each other. However, a long-kept secret threatens to tear them apart.

             Robin’s head was clouded in a thick fog of sleep as she blinked her eyes open. There was a small amount of light filtering in through the cracks in the blinds, but for the most part it was still dark. Rain was crashing against the windows, its staccato rhythm wanting to lull her back into the land of the sleeping. While she may have been half-awake and nearly dreaming, she still remembered what had happened the night before. She was waking up in Gaius’ bed _again_ , but this time she knew it was different. This time it wasn’t a drug-filled subconscious thought that had pulled her in with him, but the fact that they both had confessed their feelings the night before.

            A crack of what sounded like uncharacteristic-for-Fall thunder sent vibrations through the room, finally pulling Gaius out of his slumber. Robin rolled over to face him, his orange hair flopping in his eyes without the assistance of the headband to keep it in place. He looked sleepier than she felt, his eyes still half closed as he pulled her body close to his in a warm snuggle.

            “Morning, Bubbles.” His voice was low and gravely in the shell of her ear, making her want to hold on tight and never let go. The corners of her mouth curled up into a dopey smile, her fingers running over the bare skin of his chest just to make sure that this was real—that he was really there. He placed a large kiss to her cheek, then another to her lips. They only broke away when another crack of thunder crashed in, signaling that they should probably get out of bed.

            “Morning.” She pulled herself up to a sit, though before her feet could touch the ground Gaius was curled around her and leaving light and fluttery kisses on her jaw and neck. Her phone was in her hand, even though the battery was low, and she was flipping through a string of messages sent to her the night before.

Chrom

3:48AM Hey did you make it home ok?

3:50AM Robin r u ok?

3:51AM ??????

3:52AM Frederick is coming to look for you

4:30AM I know your phone is on.

(4) Missed Calls

            “Bubbles, no. Stay.” He had the pouty look of a petulant child on his face, though Robin was firm and stubborn. She sent a quick message to Chrom to let him know that she was okay, then locked it and placed it back on the bedside table. “The bed is warm.” She wasn’t going to give in—she knew better. But the kisses on her skin were becoming more frequent, causing her breath to hitch in her throat. It was all over when he nipped at her collarbone; she was putty in his hands.

            Robin rolled over to meet his eyes, staring deeply and intensely into them before initiating another kiss. Her fingers roamed through his hair, her other hand on his bare chest. Using mostly his good hand, he pulled her on top of him, gravity pressing their bodies together while their hands roamed free. His bandaged hand sat at the small of her back, the bottom the borrowed t-shirt sliding up to accommodate. She was a lot shorter than he was, so kissing him meant that her hips were located closer to his stomach than his own. Neither seemed to mind, however.

            Gaius’ unbandaged hand slid up her thigh until it cupped her ass, covered only by the purple cotton panties that she was wearing. A small moan escaped her lips, taking them both by surprise. “Is this okay?” He asked, and Robin nodded.

            “Yeah.” She gave him a smile, repositioning herself so that she was sitting directly on his lap. The sudden feeling of friction awakened his arousal, even more than a triple shot of espresso would. There was no hesitation in her heart, every move she made deliberate and calculated. Underneath her was Gaius’ growing bulge, and she couldn’t resist grinding against it while kissing down his neck. She was careful, her lips fluttering like rose-soft petals on the sensitive skin. He was relaxed and enjoying it; his guard long gone.

            Robin took advantage of this and sucked a deep purple mark onto his neck, causing him to gasp and slide his hand farther up her shirt. It was now grazing her upper back, smooth and obstacle free after she had removed her bra for sleep the night before. His hands were warm and soft against her skin, moving upwards until he nudged the shirt off of her. Now they were both bare-chested and left stripped down to their underwear. Gaius pulled himself up to a sit, Robin still on his lap, to whisper into her ear.

            “You’re so beautiful.” His voice was deep and husky in its hushed tone; Robin couldn’t help but have her breath taken away. She kissed him again, deeper this time, sliding her tongue past his teeth. Robin let out a gasp as Gaius’ hands were sliding over her bare breasts. He went in to bite at her lower lip, the kiss becoming so deep and passionate that their teeth were clinking together. Fingers moved up her soft mounds, taking a nipple between them to pinch and tease. Lovely noises escaped her mouth one after the other, though they were all caught in Gaius’ kiss.

            He pulled away from her, taking the time to roll her onto her back so that he could be on top of her. The new perspective made Robin’s face crack into a sly smile, but it was quickly broken with a roll of the ginger’s hips. The pressure between her legs made her whimper, her hands guiding him back down to her in an attempt to catch his mouth again. Instead he pressed his lips to her neck, sucking another deep mark onto her Plegian-tan skin. It didn’t last long, however. His lips wandered down her chest until he came to a nipple, pink and raised from the arousal building up inside of her.

            “Gods, yes.” She breathed as he sucked it into his mouth, using his tongue and teeth to tease and tempt the tender flesh. Every nip left her breathless, every swirl of his tongue a new discovery. This wasn’t her first time, but _damn_ it was the first time she had been paid attention to like this. She could feel heat pooling between her legs, begging for contact though he was relentless with her breasts. Meeting Gaius had been a fluke, becoming his friend unexpected, and falling for him a complete enigma.

            Lost in thought and bliss, Robin barely noticed when he began moving his mouth downwards, trailing his lips over her stomach so that she could feel his breath on her skin. It made her heart flutter, her hands gripping tight onto the sheets while she held her breath. “Relax, Bubbles.” Gaius said with a smirk—devilish and sexy and warm. He had noticed the tension in her chest, the deep breaths she was taking as he hooked his fingers into the band of her panties.

            “Is this okay?” He didn’t want to push her farther than she wanted, but she reached over to cup his face in her hand and smile.

            “I want this.” Robin nodded, then leaned forward to place a soft and chaste kiss on his lips. It was the go-ahead, the green light that nearly made his heart stop. This was real—she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. After years of shitty things that he had to put up with, it was nice to know that the girl he was head over heels for liked him too. “I want _you_.”

            Gaius nodded in response, taking the opportunity to slip Robin’s underwear down her legs. She lifted her hips up to ease in the removal, leaving her bare in front of him. He was soft in his touch, slow in his movements as his hands roamed over her soft thighs. The caresses were lovely, though part of her couldn’t help but worry about Gaius’ bandaged-up left hand. He was favoring his right, as it had more depth and control on her skin, but it didn’t seem like the stitches were hurting him too much. She was lost in her thoughts when she felt a shudder of pleasure run up her spine.

            His fingers were sliding up the length of her warm and wet folds, stopping to swirl lazily around her clit. Robin threw her head back against the pillows, her knuckles going white from gripping at the sheets beneath her. The fabric pulled and puckered at her grasp, a string of curses in her native Plegian slipping out of her mouth even though he was barely doing anything to incite such a reaction. Taking her noises as a lead, Gaius left several more kisses on her stomach. Each one was feather-light and fleeting, though the trail ended in him biting down on the skin above her hipbones.

            Robin let out a squeal, the sensation new and intense and coupled with Gaius’ fingers accelerating their pace on her sensitive nub. He let out a chuckle, raising his head slightly to reveal his effortless and sexy gaze. “You like that?” She nodded, her fingers still clutching the bed sheets as if they were the only things tethering her down to prevent her from floating off into the air. After all, it definitely felt like that could be the case. “Good to know.” His green eyes flashed into a wink before he dropped his head back down to continue the handiwork he had started.

            She was starting to feel breathless, the sensations causing her to writhe and buck and wriggle underneath him. However she was nowhere near the brink of her orgasm—in fact she had barely even dipped her toes into the water. Still she was dripping wet by the time Gaius’ fingers, slick from her juices, slid their way down to tease at her slit. They worked their way up and down, though they didn’t enter her in the slightest. The taunt was maddening, making Robin’s head spin until she pulled herself up to meet him in a rough kiss.

            “You’re a fuck.” She hissed as their lips broke apart, though he quickly replaced his mouth on hers while gently pressing her back to the bed.

            “Just relax. I’ll make it worth it.” He gave her a wink and she nodded, pressing her head against the pillows to brace herself for a finger slipping inside of her. It was a foreign feeling; she had only had sex once before and it wasn’t particularly _good_ sex. A foreign feeling, yes, but it felt good. Her back arched as he began to pick up the pace, thrusting the digit in and out of her slick hole. “You think you can do another?”

            Robin nodded in response. After all, she felt incredibly slick and the feeling was _so nice_ that another would probably be even better. Gaius mumbled something under his breath and then added the second finger. She quickly clutched at the sheets again, her fingers twisted up in fabric while he worked her cunt with skilled hands. At first it was just a feeling of being full, but then he crooked his fingers up inside of her, hitting the spot that she had figured out (during nights alone in her dorm) made her scream.

            “Gods, _yes_!” She shouted, her toes curling and her eyes squeezing shut to try to handle all of the pleasure coursing through her veins. He was continuing his strokes, the come-hither motion that drove her up a wall and sent her shooting towards the stars. He picked up the pace as she neared her orgasm, her walls clenching around his fingers to alert him to her level of arousal. “Gaius… I…” She was cut off by her own moans—her body squirming and her knuckles going bone-white on her left hand, where it had been placed on Gaius’ shoulder. He hissed as her fingernails dug into his flesh, but the pain wasn’t unpleasant. If anything, he enjoyed it more than he should have.

            His fingers slipped out of her and slid up to her clit, rubbing lazy circles on it as she came down from her orgasm. The sensation caused her heart to race and her ears to pound—all while the rain kept slamming and rattling against the windows.

            “Much better than being outside…” Her words came out in a breathless whisper, as all of her lung capacity had been used to moan and writhe under Gaius’ touch. He may have a silver tongue and sticky fingers, but they were _talented_. Robin watched as Gaius licked and sucked her juices off of them—his mouth working in the same way that it did when he had a particularly delicious lollipop. He sat back with an expression that made him look deep in thought, and Robin couldn’t help but stare. He was gorgeous: all green eyes and ginger hair and crooked smile that had made her weak in the knees before she had even realized that she had a Thing for him. He looked lost in his own head, as if he wasn’t quite sure if he was dreaming or not.

            Robin caught him off guard, sitting up to cup his face with one hand, while her free one released his painfully-hard cock from his boxers. That seemed to snap him out of it, a grin curling on his face as she pumped her hand along his shaft. “Bubbles…” He groaned, sucking in a deep breath before she placed her mouth on his. This time she was the one nipping at his lips, the one leaving purple lovebites all down his neck and collarbone while he hissed and moaned and bucked his hips up into her hand. She gained a certain confidence—a sudden swagger that she hadn’t felt the last time she had sex.

            “Stand up.” She said, though it came out more like a command. Gaius looked a little surprised but he did as she said. His feet hit the nubby carpet of the dorm floor, and a few seconds later Robin sank to her knees in front of him. Blowjobs weren’t particularly new to her. She had given a few more than she would probably admit to Maribelle, but with Gaius it was different. Instead of trying to get to the finish line as quickly as possible, she wanted to tease him—to warm him up for the main event, even if she already wanted to feel his cock inside of her.

            The stubby carpet bit into her skin, its sharp fibers prickling her kneecaps while she leaned forward. Her lips and tongue trailed across the skin of his inner thighs, as she was building up to the main event. One hand was braced against his hipbones, just as delicious as the rest of him, the other stroked his length to guide it into her eager mouth. Gaius was already anticipating the sensations awaiting him, so much so that his uninjured hand moved to tangle in Robin’s bed-ridden hair. He nudged her towards him, but she giggled and grinned and placed teasing kisses on the underside of the head instead. Her tongue darted out to flick the sensitive flesh, causing him to throw his head back and groan.

            “Bubbles, _fuck_.” She had him where she wanted him—he had fallen straight into her trap with no hope for release. Her mouth opened and she took his length between her lips, taking as much of it as she could with a swirl of her tongue around his shaft. The motion elicited more moans from Gaius, his fingers twirling in the cotton-candy strands as she bobbed her head up and down. Robin could feel him pulse and throb against her tongue, could hear the delightful sounds coming from low in his throat as he fucked her mouth—deeper each time. Every thrust came with a lap from her tongue; every bump an extra bit of sensation against his throbbing cock.

            Robin came off of him with a pop, a bit of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth. Gaius looked rather disappointed as she wiped the moisture from her face, but he knew that he couldn’t cum in her mouth—not before he had a chance to feel her slick cunt around him. She got back to her feet and left hot and desperate kisses on his mouth, leaning him back against the bed as they got more and more needy. She wanted to touch him and kiss him and fuck him and hear him scream her name. He got the idea pretty fast, moving so that he was lying with his back against the headboard again. His eyes were locked on Robin’s as she climbed on top of him, straddled over his waist with a determined expression.

            “Condoms?” She asked, and Gaius pointed to the beside table.

            “Drawer.” Robin nodded, then leaned over to coax the drawer open. There were several foil-wrapped packets sitting inside, but she didn’t sit around to pick or choose. She grabbed one out of the mess and retreated to her position, Gaius’ hands exploring her body. It was a strange sensation—she had the smooth skin and calloused fingers of his right hand, and the roughness of the bandages from his left. Still every touch was electrifying—like fire and ice running through her veins at the same time. She unwrapped the condom carefully, rolling it down his shaft while he looked on. It didn’t take long for her to get it on and position herself, even though her heart was racing. 24 hours ago she didn’t even realize how far her feelings for Gaius had burrowed inside of her and now she was here, in his bed, about to have _sex_ with him.

            “Bubbles—ah…” She sank down on his cock, her warm and velvety walls clinging oh-so-lovingly to his length. There was a pause, a moment of acclimation to the stretch and the feeling of being filled, before Robin began rolling her hips. Gaius’ hands flew to her waist, his touch feather soft and gentle as he guided her motions; matching every thrust with creative movements of his hips. The pace was still slow—allowing for them to get used to each other and to build the sensuality and mood between them. They kissed between thrusts and rolls, each one open-mouthed and sloppy as they tried to close any gaps between their bodies.

            Gaius pushed himself up to wrap his arms around Robin, her hair cascading down her shoulders while his hands grasped at flesh and his lips nipped and sucked at delicate skin. Her own nails were etching her essence into his back, every exhalation another declaration for the intense feelings and desires she had for the redheaded former delinquent.

            “Bubb—Robin. _Gods_.” He gasped and swore and dug his nails into her as he came, buried to the hilt deep inside of her. They both took a second to cool down—a second to breathe before Robin lifted herself off of him and fell back to the bed beside him, her heart racing and breath stolen away. He took a second to peel the condom off of himself, being careful not to spill its contents while he knotted it and tossed it in the trash. Another crash of thunder washed over the room when he returned to bed. Robin immediately snuggled up against him, ignoring the buzzing of her phone over on the table.

            “Mmm. I like the staying in bed plan.” Robin was reluctantly admitting it. She could probably use some studying, but at the moment all she wanted to do was stay cuddled in bed with Gaius.

            “Looks like I stole your heart again.” He chuckled at his own lame joke, a smile cracked on his face as he ran his thumb over the soft gray-tan of her cheek. She was nodding off to sleep again, and while it was late in the morning, he couldn’t help but close his eyes again too.

\--

            It was later that day when Robin returned to her room, though she was quite surprised to see Frederick sitting in front of her door with a vigilant expression on his face. She had always liked Frederick, even if he was suspicious of her at first. She quickly learned that the only reason he had been reluctant to accept her was to protect Chrom. But, after they both warmed up to each other they found themselves fast friends. Still, it was quite odd to find him sitting there. It took a few minutes more for her to remember that Chrom had sent Frederick out to look for her when she hadn’t returned his texts. She just didn’t think that he would have waited this long to find her.

            “Milady, I see that you are safe.” He cocked his head to the side, taking a moment to inspect Robin. Her hair was quite disheveled and there were several hickies dotting her neck. There was no doubt between the two of them about what had occurred to Robin before her arrival at her own room, though Frederick didn’t say anything. Tact was one of his many virtues.

            “Yeah… How long have you been sitting here?” Robin was concerned. Frederick was known for going above and beyond, especially for his friends, but if he had been sitting there for hours just to make sure that she came home eventually…

            “Only a few hours. I took a break to have lunch with milord…” Frederick tapped his chin idly before pulling himself up to a stand. His height was quite intimidating; he towered nearly a head and a half above Robin. If she didn’t know him as well as she did, she would probably even say that she could be frightened. But, he was a giant teddy bear with a huge crush on Chrom.

            “I texted him to let him know I was all right.” While she was glad that her friends cared about her, she was still quite concerned with the lengths that they were going to ensure her safety. “I stayed with Gaius last night.”

            “I… I assumed as much.” A bright blush had found its way onto the boy’s face, rosy red with embarrassment. He looked away from her quickly, so as she wouldn’t think that he was particularly staring at the marks she bore. “But it is my duty to serve and protect.”

            “I am neither Chrom nor Lissa. You shouldn’t worry about me so much.”

            “If Milord is worried, I’m worried too. We are friends, aren’t we?” He was looking hopeful, as if there was still a chance that Robin would say no. She valued her friendship with Frederick. He was loyal and kind, even if he worried to excess.

            “I appreciate your concern. But you and Chrom can have a night off of the worrying.” Robin paused, looking down at her phone with a frown. “Hey, did you hear anything from Maribelle or Cordelia at all?”

            “Not that I know of, Milady. Would you like me to contact them?” He was concerned, probably just as much as Robin was. The night before had been so strange—everyone getting ready to go to Chrom’s, only to find that two of them had bailed.

            “No… No. I mean. I need my keys but I’m sure Tharja is home.” Robin sighed heavily and pressed her back to the door, taking a moment to slide down it until she landed in a sit on the floor. “Unless you think you can rescue them.”

            “Fear not. They were hidden under that… _charming_ mat you have.” Robin looked down to where she was sitting, taking a moment to roll her eyes. Tharja’s decorations were always unorthodox, but the welcome mat decorated with skulls and the phrase “Go Away” was a new one. Still, Robin took her keys from Frederick’s hand and gave him a nod. She was glad that she had run into him, even if she was going to have to have a talk with Chrom about appropriate levels of worry.

            “Thanks, Frederick. Let me know if you hear anything, okay?”

            “Will do, Milady.” He gave her a small smile before heading back down the hall, leaving Robin alone again. She paused for a moment before shoving her key into the lock, letting herself back into her room.

\--

            It was a rare occurrence for Robin to see Olivia sans Chrom, even though she had been the one to introduce the happy couple, but whenever she did she always had an incredible time.

            It was late in the afternoon, gradually fading into early evening when Olivia arrived. She was dressed in her usual wear of athletic leggings and a pretty top—a combination only she could pull off. Olivia was a dancer; every movement she made was beautiful and graceful, even if she could barely speak above a whisper. Robin was quite surprised by her arrival, but also quite delighted.

            “Olivia!”

            “Hi… Robin.” The Feroxi girl blushed, but ultimately hugged her friend before proceeding to use her wall to stretch. “Have you heard from Maribelle at all?”

            Robin felt her stomach drop. She had forgotten for at least a moment that she hadn’t had a response to any of her texts in days. Her offhanded complaining to Olivia must have caused concern, though she hadn’t planned to raise any in the first place. “Um… No. I haven’t.”

            “Oh.” Olivia went back to stretching, though Robin wasn’t quite sure why. She was just spending time in Robin’s room, not preparing for— _that’s right_. Robin had forgotten that she was supposed to take Olivia to an important dress rehearsal, due to the fact that Chrom had an exam the next day and was probably asleep and drooling on his books in the library. “I’m sure it’s nothing bad, Robin.”

            “Have you heard from her?” Robin looked from her friend, to the chair where her coat was resting, then over at another stack of Tharja’s junk that littered the living room. “At all?”

            “Yeah… But, you know how she gets.” Her foot hit the floor, barely making a sound, and without pause she hitched the other leg up to press against the ugly plaster. “She’ll come around.”

            “She shouldn’t have to come around in the first place. I don’t even know what I did!” The frustration in Robin’s voice was excruciatingly evident. She just wanted to clench her fists and punch the wall and eat all the Snickers out of Gaius’ candy stash. He _had_ been keeping around a few extra once he found out that she liked them.

            “Maybe… Maybe Lissa could help?” She was trying to be helpful, though she was just as clueless as Robin was. Olivia wasn’t particularly known for being exceptionally forward; the idea scared her and even if she had the courage to ask, the probability of getting an answer was slim to none.

            “I don’t want to pry too much.”

            “That’s probably smart.” Olivia was now sitting on the ground, looking up at Robin with a slight frown. A sigh escaped her lips, though she wasn’t stretching any longer, and folded her hands in her lap.

            “Are you ready to go?” Robin was forcing a smile, even though this was eating away at her. Olivia could see right through it—she always did, but didn’t press the matter any further.

            “As ever.” She paused, grabbing her bag while she stood up. “How are things with you and Gaius?”

            “He’s… He’s great, Olivia. I really like him.” Thinking about him made her heart beat faster; made her stomach fill to the brim with butterflies. Gaius was exceptional. He was someone that always made her laugh, but always was a challenge. He was kind and intelligent and a bit of a badboy without all of the negative traits. Gaius had snuck into her life without her even realizing it and now she was smitten. Robin grabbed her keys off of the coffee table and headed for the door, a small smile still lingering on her lips. “Let’s go, then.”

\--

            Robin was sitting in her room, tapping her pen frantically against her desk while she stared blankly at her calculus textbook. She was good at math—it was always something she found comfort in. Numbers and formulas and plans and plots, it was all clean and neat and had an answer and a solution. But at the moment she could only think about the radio silence she was receiving from Maribelle. Cordelia had been acting weird that one night, but she had quickly returned to her old self with no explanation for being MIA that Friday. However, Maribelle was still ignoring her texts without any seeming rhyme or reason. She was beginning to get worried and frustrated, her hands growing clammy as she tried to write out the last bit of the formula, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone buzzed again.

            There was another cute and sweet message from Gaius, and a missed message from Olivia asking if her outfit for the night was cute or not. Still, there was nothing from Maribelle. Robin was still tempted to ask Lissa if anything was going on, but she didn’t want to get her wedged between her best friend and her brother’s best friend. She sighed heavily and put her pen down, shooting a message back to Olivia to tell her that she looked gorgeous, as always. The next text she typed out was to Gaius. He was stuck in some night seminar for a class that he hated but needed to attend, and she wanted to cheer him up as best as she could.

            He was probably sitting in the lecture hall, sucking on some sort of lollipop (his current obsession was with sour green apple) while trying to take notes. The professor was probably droning on and on about something that wasn’t even going to be on the test, though he would insist that it was incredibly important. Robin frowned, as part of her wanted him to be in the room with her. Maybe they’d watch crap TV and eat ho-hos and talk about everything and nothing until they both fell asleep. But he was in class and she had to study, and still there were no texts from Maribelle. Robin was about to give up when she heard a knock on the door.

            The sudden noise nearly made her jump out of her skin, but she scrambled to her feet to get the door before Tharja did. She hoped that it wasn’t her roommate’s friend, Henry, who was over sometimes. He was from Plegia as well, and he was nice enough. He had a strange sense of humor but Robin didn’t _dislike_ him. She was just hoping that it would be one of her friends instead. “Coming!” Robin called as she nearly tripped over a stack of Tharja’s creepy books, landing in front of the door with only a few hairs draped in her face.

            She was pleasantly surprised to see Maribelle standing there, dressed to the nines in pink and white with her normal outlandishly large ribbons in her hair. She looked quite nervous—a look that Robin had never seen on the noble. Robin opened her mouth to say something, but Maribelle wasted no time walking in to the room and taking a seat on Robin’s couch.

            “It’s uh… Good to see you.” She could hear her phone buzzing back on her desk, but she ignored it. This was the first time she had seen Maribelle in days, and now it was time for answers—even if she had to resort to techniques that she wasn’t quite sure were legal in Ylisse.

            “It’s a pleasure, darling.” Maribelle crossed her legs and folded her hands neatly on top of her knees, though she still was avoiding eye contact with the older girl. It wasn’t very ladylike, or at least that’s what Robin would say if she felt like being malicious or ill-willed towards the blonde. She looked around, as if searching for someone that was going to pop out of the shadows, then turned back to Robin with a sigh. “I need to talk to you. It’s about Gaius.”

            “Gaius?” Robin was incredibly confused. Just a few days prior they had been running around all giggly and happy about the possibility of Robin having a crush, and now Maribelle was sitting on her couch looking like she had a large stick shoved up her ass clamoring on about how she needed to talk about Gaius. “What about him?”

            “Look, Robin. I know you like him. I just didn’t realize that it was _that_ Gaius. It’s a common name in Ylisse, you know. Honest mistake. If I had known, I would have nipped this in the bud a long time ago. You do have terrible taste in men, Robin dear.” Normally when Maribelle gave advice, wanted or not, she delivered it with confidence and a swagger that came from years and years of dealing with people at court. But now she was quite nervous—nothing at all like her normal self.

            “Vaike was a mistake. And it was only once,” Robin snapped, “but Gaius… Gaius is different.” Her defense was heartfelt, but Maribelle tutted her and shook her dainty blonde head.

            “Lowborn filth will always be lowborn filth. At least Vaike _tries_.” She paused and looked up at her friend, her eyes sad and watery as she kept just enough eye contact for Robin to listen. “There is something you need to know about Gaius.”

            “I know about the Juvie thing, Mari. If you think that is going to deter me so easil—“

            “Robin. He was almost sentenced to hang.” Her words hit Robin like a sack of bricks right to the chest. _Hang?_ Robin knew about the branding and about his past but this—this was new. New and unsettling, so much so that her stomach was tying in knots and she felt like she was going to hurl all over Tharja’s expensive and very dangerous looking books.

            “What… What for?” She was trying to be strong. After all, she believed in Gaius. He was a good person; he had shown her that throughout the entire time that she knew him. He was kind and gentle and giving, even if he had a past drenched in red. Her palms were starting to sweat, but idly rubbing them on the flannel of her pajama pants was doing nothing to stop the feeling. “Maribelle!”

            “He was caught stealing from the royal treasury a few years ago.” Maribelle cleared her throat and looked down at the stack of books on the ground, though she seemed rather horrified at some of the titles. _The Dark Arts Volume 1_ , _How to Properly Sacrifice a Goat, 101 Ways to Prepare Newt_ … they were quite unsettling. “And instead of owning up to it, he blamed my father.”

            “Your father?”

            “Yes. My father almost met the noose for what that…” She stopped short, as she was getting angry and she always went on and on about how unladylike it was to swear. Her blonde curls lay limp against her pink attire, loose and falling out of place from the time of night. “I wouldn’t trust him, Robin.”

            The other girl opened her mouth to rebut, but there was another knock on the door. Robin held a finger up to signify a pause, but when she opened the door she was quite shocked to find Gaius. He leaned in to her, pressing a light kiss to her cheek with a smile on his face. “Hey, Bubbles.”

            Robin looked over at Maribelle, all the color drained from both of the girls’ faces. Gaius walked past and raised an eyebrow when he saw the blonde on the couch, though she was trying her hardest to act like she didn’t care at all about his presence in the room. “Oh. Twinkles is here too.”

            “Yeah… Sorry. That’s why I haven’t been texting back.”

            “No biggie. Figured you fell asleep on your books and I was going to see if you wanted to make a run to get milkshakes. But if you want, I’ll go.” He gave a shrug, looking to Robin, who looked to Maribelle, who looked like she was going to be sick.

            “Actually… Look, Gaius. I want to hear this straight from you…” She stopped to cringe. That night at the hospital—he had looked so hurt when she just _assumed_ that he had stolen the necklace. She didn’t want to hurt him again—especially since Maribelle’s story seemed so outlandish. But then again, Maribelle had been her friend first…

            Gaius looked from Robin to Maribelle, then back to Robin again. He knew exactly what she was talking about, just from the gravity in the room and the way Maribelle looked like she wanted to remove his eyeballs with a rusty spoon. Both the girls were waiting patiently, though the expression on Robin’s face was a lot softer—more worried than Maribelle’s vicious glare.

            “I’m sorry about that. Look, Twinkles. It’s nothing personal. The money wasn’t even for me.” Robin was a little irritated with how casual he was being, even though that was just… _Gaius_. She was expecting him to take this a little more seriously, considering there had been a sentence of hanging on the table on top of the fact that he had framed an innocent man.

            “Nothing personal? My father was nearly put to death for _treason_ due to your shenanigans! What did my father ever do to you to make you—“ Robin had walked over to the blonde, placing her hand on her shoulder. Maribelle’s hands were shaking and tears were beading up in the corners of her eyes while Gaius looked on, eyes glued to the floor. Robin was stuck between her boyfriend and one of her closest friends, both with their own sides to the convoluted and twisted tale before them.

            “I had my reasons, Twinkles. Not many people understand.” He let out a low chuckle, one full of guilt and sadness and hurt. His eyes darted up to meet Robin’s, her heart fluttering in her chest while he unwrapped another lollipop. The bright green candy rested on his lips, giving him a pause while he tried to figure out what to say—how he could explain everything to make it all right again. He took the sweet into his mouth, still thinking. Ever since he was little, he was tenacious and stubborn and didn’t like letting people see all of his cards. But, he knew by the look on his girlfriend’s face that she was being torn apart from the inside out over this. So, he sighed and took a seat on the coffee table, facing the two girls with a frown on his face.

            “Twinkles, do you remember how your father got off the hook?” His words were slightly muffled due to the fact that he still had the lollipop wedged between his teeth and his cheek, the acid from the sour apple stinging the mucosal membranes inside his mouth. Maribelle was staring at him, her eyes still stinging with tears while her hands were balled into fists in her lap.

            “A letter.”

            “Yep.” He popped the candy out of his mouth and held it in front of him, as if he were inspecting it for some sort of defect. The candy was back in his mouth just as quickly as he had slipped it out, even though he wasn’t done explaining. Robin had knots forming in the pit of her stomach, as she wanted to comfort both of them. Part of her even wanted to dig through Tharja’s creepy books to find something that would make them forget that any of this ever happened.

            “I don’t see how that has anything to do with you. Besides. That information wasn’t made available to the publ—“ The wheels were turning in Maribelle’s head, though she still couldn’t fit all the pieces together. Robin had to agree—it didn’t all make sense.

            “I’m not the public, am I? That literary masterpiece was my handiwork, Twinkles.” His confidence and swagger were back as he winked at the blonde, causing Robin to roll her eyes. Of course Gaius would make light of a situation like this. But that was the magic of him. He could take something serious and earthshattering and make you laugh until it stopped feeling like your chest was going to cave in on itself. He had such a calming aura that you couldn’t help but take a deep breath and relax around him.

            “That doesn’t excuse for pointing your sticky fingers at my father!” The fire was back in Maribelle’s eyes, enough that Robin inched back from her on the couch. If there was anything that Robin had learned about Maribelle since meeting her, it was that she was a complete and utter daddy’s girl. It was always so strange to Robin, as she had never been close to her father. Quite the opposite in fact. But, Maribelle’s father wasn’t Validar of Plegia. Maribelle’s father didn’t have his own oppressive standards for his daughter that she could but didn’t _want_ to live up to.

            “I didn’t. I got caught up with the wrong people. I did things I didn’t want to do in order to survive.” Gaius sighed, his hands starting to shake from the raw emotion that was bubbling up inside of him. It was an odd feeling. He hadn’t felt anything that strong since he was a kid—right after his father left. There had been so much anger and sadness inside of him that he had to find ways to quell it. Feelings like that had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

            “I said that I am sorry. I try to pay my dues.” He had been talking to Maribelle but he turned to face Robin, whose head was in her hands while trying to figure out how she could even contemplate attacking the situation.

            “Whatever.” Maribelle had had enough. She sighed heavily and grabbed her bag before storming out the door. The slam was followed by a crash, coming from the direction of Tharja’s room, accompanied by some choice words in Plegian.

            “Bubbles, I want you to believe me. Twinkles can hate me. I expect her to. But, please.” Gaius walked over to Robin and kneeled in front of her, placing his hand gently on top of hers. Her skin was soft and her fingers cold as always, but she always made him smile. “Robin, please listen.”

            Now that Maribelle was gone, Robin felt a bit more comfortable listening to him. She wanted to believe in him. From the moment that she really got to know him, she knew that he was someone special. He was intelligent and caring and had a good sense of humor—and above all he was a good friend. She laced her fingers with his, letting the silence fall over them while they looked into each other’s eyes.

            “I said that I would never judge you for what you did. That was a promise.” Robin’s voice came out in a timid squeak. It was hard, since she did agree with Maribelle. But on the other hand, Gaius had been torn up about his actions. She didn’t want to lose either of them. Maribelle didn’t have to like Gaius, but Robin hoped that she would at least _tolerate_ him. She leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Gaius’ cheek, which made his eyes flutter shut. Feeling a bit daring, she nudged the lollipop stick aside and left another one, soft and lingering, right on his lips.

            “Thanks, Bubbles.” He took the candy out of his mouth and held it between his fingers like a cigarette, a deep breath escaping his lips. His eyes flit back to catch Robin’s, his green meeting her brown. “You’re pretty great.”

            “You’re pretty great yourself.” She kissed his green-stained lips, the taste of sour apple lingering on his tongue like a whisper in the wind. His hand was healing nicely—nice enough for her to be able to hold both of his hands without hurting him. Their fingers were laced together while they stood there alone in Robin’s living room, the only sound filling the room was a faint buzz coming from the general direction of Tharja’s door. It was a moment of peace after the mayhem that had just occurred in front of them, the calm in the eye of the storm.

            “I can tell you what happened,” Gaius whispered, “if it’d make you feel better.” His forehead was pressed to hers, even if he had to lean down to do so, the gray in his green eyes being brought out by the low light and the nighttime.

            “Only if you want to.” Truth be told, Robin did want to know. One of her friends came running into her room ranting and raving about stolen money and hanging people and letters and blame and it had all happened so fast that he head was spinning.

            “Maybe you should sit down first.” He dropped her hand, now free to brush a chunk of pink hair out of her eyes. The motion was soft and delicate and made Robin blush like a schoolgirl (though she never would admit it.) She gave him a nod and led him into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Her desk was still littered with textbooks and notes and pencils and other crap, the floor covered with a few pairs of jeans and a bra or two. Gaius smiled as the two curled up on her bed, warm and snug as a pair of bugs in a rug. Robin snuggled up against his chest, closing her eyes to take in the sound of his heart beating underneath her.

            “We’re sitting now.” Her voice came out in a squeak while her hand idly slipped into his pocket to procure a brightly wrapped candy. She pinched the wrapper between her fingers, letting it unwind to release the sweet before she popped it in her mouth. It had a sweet caramel butterscotch flavor that delighted her tongue, even as Gaius looked at her with an emotionless expression.

            “Okay. Well. It was a few years ago. I had already gotten this thing,” He pointed to the black cloth wrapped tightly around his arm, “and it got the attention of some unsavory fellows.” Gaius swallowed hard, and from Robin’s position she could hear the increase in the pace of his heartbeat. She flicked the candy to the other side of her mouth with her tongue, sitting up a little in order to shrug off her hoodie. It had been getting hot in the room, and if she were to return to her snuggling position she needed to be covered in fewer layers.

            “Unsavory fellows? Go on.” Robin was now only in a thin white tee shirt, which Gaius recognized as one of his. He had given it to her to sleep in one night when she had stayed over, but she had quickly decided that it was going to be hers. It looked good on her, comfortable and soft, so he couldn’t quite complain. When he noticed that he was staring at her, he blinked a few times and looked away. He hadn’t told anyone the story—not even once. But Robin put him at ease; reminded him that he wasn’t just those things.

            “They thought I was approaching on their turf, or whatever.” She was quiet while he talked. Her eyes were half closed and her fingers entwined with his. He was going to continue, but he got distracted by looking down at the six-eyed mark on Robin’s hand. “You haven’t worn your gloves in a while. Since I mentioned them, actually.”

            Robin looked down, a blush rising on her face. It was true. She hadn’t been wearing them, even though they had been her security blanket for years. Her mom had made her wear them as a kid—said that they would protect her. But now, now she didn’t feel like she needed them. “Back to the story, then?”

            “Right. So, they didn’t like me, even though I was just a messed up kid. And because they didn’t like me, they decided to threaten me. Told me to do the job for them, or they would hurt Ma.” Gaius looked down to his arm, Robin’s cold fingers dancing across his skin to push aside the cloth andcover the raised mark on his wrist. Despite being long-healed it still looked painful, at least to her eyes. “And she’s been through enough.”

            “Gaius…”

            “So right before I go to do it, they tell me… Tell me that there’s a good chance I’ll get caught. Now, obviously I don’t want to do a job where I’m definitely going to get caught.”

            “Of course not.” Robin nodded, entranced with his story and his reasons and how hurt he sounded.

            “So they told me… If you get caught, to say that I was working for Twinkles’ dad.” His voice got soft as his fingers brushed through her soft hair, even though it was still tangled from furiously twirling it while studying. “And… lo and behold… I got caught. But I didn’t want to point any fingers. He didn’t do anything. So, I kept my mouth shut. I kept it shut until they came back around, saying that if I didn’t finger the Lord, then they would kill his daughter.”

            Gaius’ eyes were glassed over in astringent tears—the memory was painful for him, even if he was normally cool as a cucumber. Robin wanted to do something to help him, but she knew the only thing that she could do was sit down and listen. “Maribelle.”

            “Yeah. And… That would be worse. So I did what they wanted. I went free. And her father went to trial. But I did everything that I could to clear his name without them finding out.” He let out a long, deep breath and wiped the sweat from his palms off on his jeans. The room got quiet—neither of them really knew what to say about it. “I’m sorry.”

            “Gaius, I’ve known about you from day one.” Robin sat up slightly, propping herself on her pillow to take a good look deep into his eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to contemplate what to do, then took a deep breath and cupped her face in his hand. “And I still…. I like you. And I like that you’re mine.”

            Gaius’ face fell into a doofy grin, the kind that warmed Robin’s heart straight to its core. He pulled her in close and kissed her hard, losing himself in her touch. She was hypnotic to him—she had this charm that put him at ease. Everything about her was even better than candy, and he still couldn’t believe that she had chosen him. “You’re not so bad yourself, Bubbles.”

            He looked over at the clock, his eyes taking longer and longer to reopen each time he blinked. “It’s getting late. I should be going.”

            Before he could get up, Robin grabbed his wrist and looked into his eyes. She didn’t want him to leave. He was warm and loving and everything about him made her smile. And after the night he had, she wanted to make sure that he was okay. “Stay.”

            “Bubbles…”

            “Really. Tharja doesn’t care. And I…” Her entire face flashed red, the blush showing deeply on her cheeks. She opened her mouth to finish the sentence, then ended up mumbling a string of incoherent nonsense. Gaius shrugged and slunk back into bed, taking a second to pull his shirt off and wriggle out of his pants.

            “You what?”

            “Nothing. Go to sleep.” Robin rolled over and shut her eyes, trying her hardest to keep from letting the embarrassment show on her face. He knew that she liked him; after all they were together. But, it was the extent of her feelings hitting her so suddenly that kept her from opening her mouth. Gaius, too tired to argue, shrugged and wrapped his arms around her. His skin was warm against hers, soft and gentle. She couldn’t imagine what it must have felt like for him to be caught in the situation that he had been in, and the thought of him going through that made her chest hurt. He was so kind—so loving and caring, and she didn’t want to see him get hurt. Even if it was in the past, she wanted to keep him safe in the present.

            He got up quickly to strip down to his underwear before crawling back into bed with her. She was already in her pajamas, lounging against the pillows to eagerly await his return. Gaius climbed back in just as quickly as he had climbed out, and snuggled up next to her.

            Before drifting off, she rolled over and pressed a kiss to his lips, causing him to smile even though his eyes were closed. “Night, Bubbles.” He mumbled, his words thick with sleep. He pulled her close to his body, allowing her to snuggle up to him. She yawned, closing her eyes again. There was something that she desperately wanted to say—wanted to get off of her chest. However, it was late and she was tired and it would have to wait until the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And.... Here's the porn. I'm sorry this chapter took a lot longer to get out than I had hoped. Hopefully I have worked through the roadblock and more will be on the way soon.
> 
> If you like what you read, please leave kudos or a comment. I can always be reached at my tumblr, safraninflare.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you for reading, and enjoy!


	5. Mystery Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumors coming from the capitol threaten to shake Robin's world, and everyone else in it.

            “Is this really necessary, Frederick?” Robin asked, her breath coming out in exasperated and labored puffs while she threw another punch at the vinyl-coated pad protecting his hand. Her taped-up fingers ached as they made contact with the plasticky material again; so many times now that she had long lost count.

            “You haven’t trained in weeks, milady.” Frederick replied, though he didn’t seem fazed as the pace of Robin’s punches sped up. It was true. Since she had gotten together with Gaius she had slacked on her Saturday night workouts with Frederick, and while she didn’t think she’d ever end up in a fistfight where she would have to use half of the stuff that he tried to teach her she _had_ noticed that she was getting a lot more winded running up the stairs. She shot her leg up in an attempt to kick the pad, but she misjudged her trajectory and ended up forcing her foot right into the loyal knight’s solar plexus. He let out a sound Robin could only describe as a solid “oof” and brought himself down to the ground.

            “Shit! I’m so sorry!” Robin’s face was beet red as she joined him on the floor, checking him over in an attempt to make sure she didn’t hurt him too badly. He seemed to be in pain but he was breathing, so she didn’t believe that she knocked the wind out of him; just gave him a fright and probably a nasty bruise. His flesh _was_ beginning to purple, which only served to make Robin more embarrassed.

            “No need to apologize… but I think we need to… take a break.” Frederick propped himself up against the mirror and placed his head in his hands, his chestnut colored hair stuck to his forehead with a slick sheen of sweat. Robin nodded and sprawled out on the floor, before deciding to do a few crunches to keep her pulse up. After weeks lounging with Gaius and munching on his candy stash, she definitely needed this. That, and her workout sessions with Frederick usually always turned into gossip about Chrom. “I’m worried about Milord.”

            Robin looked over at the knight with a frown, mid-crunch. The furrow in her brow soon matched his, and she cocked her head to the side in confusion. “What for?” While she had been worrying about Lissa for a bit, as she had been spending quite a bit of time with Lon’qu, Chrom had seemed as happy-go-lucky and oblivious as ever. He was doing well in his classes, sending adorable snapchats of him and Olivia on the regular, and was even refraining from letting Vaike talk him into keg stands at frat parties. _What could he possibly be worried about?_

            “The council of Ylisse is… hesitant about his relations with Olivia.” Frederick pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. Deep lines appeared on his forehead, making him look older. It was quite obvious the stress was getting to him, but Robin was still quite confused.

            “What? But she’s practically Khan Basilio’s daughter. That’s the icing on the diplomatic cake! Having Regna Ferox as an ally would be very advantageous.” Robin quit her crunches and crossed her arms over her chest, a frown sending her entire face into a pout. Chrom and Olivia were two of her best friends, and they were _perfect_ for each other. The idea that the council could think otherwise completely floored her. Then again, she had only been living in Ylisse for a short amount of time. She wasn’t familiar with their politics or policies, though now the talk of arranging marriages made _Robin_ nervous. After all, she was the heir to the Plegian throne—even if she had no desire to ever claim it.

            “They have suggested Lady Maribelle or even Sumia.”

            “But Maribelle only tolerates Chrom because of Lissa?” Robin let out another long sigh, her muscles aching and her skin sticky with sweat. The gym probably wasn’t the best place to gossip about royal relations, but she had gotten too invested. There was a twinge of anxiety in the back of her chest, a measly seed that threatened to grow into a ravenous vine. She hadn’t told her father about Gaius. Hell, she hadn’t talked to her father about _anything_ in a while. She had been screening his calls and actively trying to avoid speaking to him. Her life in Ylisse was nice. She had good friends and was slated to get a good job. Plegia had nothing to offer her in any way. “Though it doesn’t take a psychic to see that Sumia has been head over heels for Chrom for years.”

            “Unfortunately that is the case. However, she is just as opposed to the council’s thoughts as Chrom is. While she does have feelings for milord, she doesn’t want to be stuck in a marriage that he is not happy with.” Frederick brushed his sweat soaked hair off of his forehead, taking a minute to take a stress-laden breath. Robin knew how much Frederick cared for Chrom—he wasn’t nicknamed _Frederick the Wary_ for nothing.

            “I’m sure things will be okay, Frederick. And if not, I’ll go beat up some Ylissian nobles myself!” Robin sprang to her feet and pantomimed a few punches, which caused the distraught knight to let out a faint chuckle.

            “You’re going to have to work on your left hook a bit more if you’re going to want to take out Maribelle’s father.” A wide smile cracked on his face, finally breaking through the stress and weight on his shoulders, and he slipped the target pad back on his hand. “Back in his day he was quite the athlete.”

            “I can take that stiff.” Robin was showing off now, beating the mitt again and again in rapid succession; only stopping when she heard the door to the mini gym click open. She was ready to tell someone off, as she was in the zone and wasn’t going to give up the space, but instead of an intruder entering it was just Gaius. Seeing the redhead, Frederick tossed a towel over to Robin and began beating the punching bag behind him a few times. “Never thought I’d see you down here. There’s no candy.” Robin had a sly smile on her face, though she never thought that her plan would have actually worked.

            “I mean you told me you were going to be here.” He gave a small shrug and sat down on the floor, though he was in his normal attire and nothing suitable to work out in. “And I wanted to cheer you on. And then take you for pancakes.”

            “I think that’s the opposite of the goal of working out.” She took the towel and wiped the layer of sweat off of her forehead, which was beginning to bead up and roll into her eyes. Still she leaned over and planted a kiss on Gaius’ cheek, which caused a rapid blush to erupt over his pale and freckled cheeks. “Plus, I probably smell like a zoo.”

            “You can clean up, _then_ we’ll go get pancakes.” He pulled a lollipop out of a seemingly endless pocket and yanked the wrapper off, crumpling it in his hand before he slid the candy between his cheek and teeth. Robin had a suspicion as to where the pancake obsession came from, but that was typical of Gaius.

            “How many episodes of Diner Wars did you watch instead of studying?”

            “None. Six. But that’s not important.” Gaius waved her concerns off and focused his attention to Frederick, who _did_ smell like a zoo and who was still beating the pulp out of the punching bag. “Hey, Sir Frowny-Face!” Frederick lifted up his head and frowned, shaking his head at the silly nickname that Gaius had given him.

            “You can take her if she wants to go. But try to get her down here more often. Left Hook.” Frederick winked at Robin, who winked back and left Gaius quite confused.

            “Got it, Freddy Bear.” Robin gave a salute to her friend, then exited the gym with Gaius. Her breathing was still a bit heavy, and was especially physically exaggerated by the fact that she was only in a sports bra and a pair of spandex shorts. She had an extra shirt tucked in her bag, but she was still quite warm—even if the walk outside would be frigid and sharp. Gaius was looking at her with a strange sort of awe, simply because even covered in sweat and half out of breath she was _breathtaking_. At least to him, anyway.

            “Who’re you trying to beat up, Bubbles?”

            “Apparently the entire nobility of Ylisse.” Robin gave a small nervous chuckle, Chrom’s situation resurging the intense pang of anxiety in her chest. Her feelings for Gaius were growing more and more intense day-by-day, not enough to contemplate _marriage_ but the idea of increasing pressure from her own country’s set of nobles was _crippling_. Her face fell quickly, though Gaius noticed only a half a second later.

            “Bubbles?” The nickname tumbled out of his mouth so quickly that he bit down harshly on the lollipop he was working on. Spears of shattered candy filled his mouth, the stick tumbling from his mouth like the ghost of an unlit cigarette. He didn’t care much about it, worrying more about the expression on Robin’s face.

            She didn’t respond, too deep in thought to actually hear him. He repeated himself, but her chest nearly felt like it was going to cave in. All of the things swimming through her head were what-ifs and maybes. After all no one was even toeing the line of influencing the future of her relationship. Robin knew she needed to calm down, but the thoughts wouldn’t cease. Before she knew it, she stopped in her tracks, staring out into the night while the cold bit at her skin. It was below freezing out, the weather threatening flurries any moment, and yet she was still standing outside in it while barely clothed.

            “Robin! Are you okay?” Gaius was worried now, wrapping an arm around her goosebump-covered waist to turn her towards him. Their eyes met, though she nearly broke contact.

            “Yes. No. I don’t know.” She let out a heavy sigh and leaned into him, mainly to absorb and abscond with his body heat. “I don’t know. Just. Let me rinse off and we’ll get pancakes. I’m just tired.”

            “We don’t have to get pancakes.” His voice was soft, his eyes kind as he left a feather-light kiss on her forehead. “It’s pretty late.” She was conflicted, as she probably was carb deprived after Frederick’s rigorous training but on the other hand she was also _exhausted_.

            “But… pancakes?” She knew that he wanted them—he wouldn’t have even mentioned them if he didn’t think he could score a pancake dinner. (Or rather a pancake midnight snack)

            “We can go back to the dorms. Watch some Diner Wars. Go to sleep. And then we’ll wake up early and get pancakes then.” He gave her a small and reassuring squeeze, which caused a small smile to slip onto her lips. “Sound good?”

            “Perfect.” She leaned into him again, even though her sticky skin was transferring the musky scent of her sweat to his clothes. They quickly made it to their building, and they headed right for Gaius’ room. Enough of her things had ended up in his place, leaving an ever-present stain of her spirit even when she wasn’t there. Robin was about to dive right into the shower when Gaius lightly placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn around. In a swift motion, he spun her around and pinned her back to the door, pressing kisses to her lips and jaw and neck. She took a sharp breath in, craning her head as far back as it could go to give him more access to the sensitive flesh of her throat. They were right out in the open of the hallway—right where Libra could easily find them. It gave Gaius a sort of excitement, like when he would steal things. The thrill of avoiding being caught always gave him an edge.

            “You’re the sweetest thing I could ever sink my teeth into.” Gaius said, his voice a hushed whisper. Robin could tell that he was trying to be sensual and sexy and romantic, but she couldn’t help but laugh. His obsession with candy went so far that it even bled into their bedroom escapades, but this was the icing on top of the metaphorical cake.

            “You’re a dweeb.” Robin said, placing another kiss on his cherry-tinged lips. “And I have to shower.”

            “I don’t see why those things have to be mutually exclusive.” His lips ghosted over the sensitive and pulsing vein in her throat, causing her to go weak at the knees. He didn’t have to twist her arm to convince her; she slipped her hand off of his chest and turned the handle to the bathroom door, allowing them both to tumble inside. Gaius lost his footing quite quickly, ending up falling to the ground and taking Robin down with him. His body held her close to the floor, the cold tiles biting at her back while his body heat radiated through her like fire on her skin.

            “Guess I really _fell_ for you, didn’t I?” Robin cracked a smile, her fingers quickly dipping their way under the hem of Gaius’ t-shirt. Her palms pressed flat against his skin, causing him to shudder. His eyes closed, breathing her in, while she lifted the garment above his head to cast it onto the ground. After its removal, her lips made their way back to his skin. She kissed down his chest, distracting him while she began the delicate work of breaking open the zipper on his jeans. With some help from him, they joined his shirt on the floor and took his boxers with them.

            Robin quickly wriggled out of her sports bra while Gaius aided in pulling off her shorts, their mouths barely breaking contact even as they stood up and fumbled towards the shower. The heat of the water cascading over their skin took a load of tension off of Robin’s shoulders, the shitty water pressure still providing a gentle massage to her sore muscles.

            It was a tight fit in the small quarters of the shower, but he used it to his advantage. His lips were pressed to the crux of her neck and shoulders, one hand snaked around her to grasp a breast while the other dipped down lower, lower… Robin sucked in a sharp breath as his nimble fingers raked over her clit, taking a moment to swirl around the sensitive flesh. “You’re the worst.” She gasped, but Gaius just cracked another sly smile.

            “I’m sorry. I think I misheard you. I’m pretty sure you meant that I’m the _best_.” To punctuate his sentence, he gave a few quick swirls of his fingers in conjunction with his other hand teasing her nipple. Robin’s knees went weak, her weight leaning against Gaius to try to keep herself upright as the water ran over them both. She pressed her butt firm against his member, which twitched to life against her backside. Before he could get anywhere, however, Robin grabbed the bottle of shower gel and pressed it into his hand.

            “Soap me up?” There was the faint echo of a smile in her voice as Gaius opened the container, releasing the smell of sultry vanilla and jasmine that he had grown to associate with her skin. He poured a small amount onto his hand and worked it into a rich lather. Meanwhile, Robin was working on her hair. Her fingers were snaked through the damp locks of cotton candy pink hair, massaging her shampoo into her scalp. Gaius wanted to devour her right then and there, pressing her up against the shower wall and fucking her until she screamed his name over and over.

            He was so entranced in his thoughts that he had forgotten what he was _actually_ supposed to be doing, leaving him standing behind Robin with a soapy hand and an untimely erection. He grumbled under his breath and went to work soaping up Robin’s skin. She was responsive to his touch, leaning into it and manipulating her body so that more of her would be accessible to him. His hands were slow and sensual; dancing across her spine like sparks diving into her flesh. Robin knew she would be lying if she said she wasn’t even a little bit turned on by it. Gaius always knew how to light the fire inside of her—knew just what buttons to press and strings to pull to get her to come apart in his hands. And she would also be lying if she said she didn’t have the same effect on him.

            The last bit of conditioner residue ran out of her hair and down the drain, filling the shower with its rich and clean perfume. She squeezed the length of her hair in her fist, letting the remainder of the water run out, then pounced. Gaius’ back hit the tiles, her mouth on his while his hands struggled to find a place to rest. One grabbed a handful of ass and the other tangled into a handful of hair. She smelled like soap and rain and home against him, like a new volume after chapter upon chapter of his same shitty life. He was so caught up in the fog of his intoxication for her that he barely heard her when she groaned under her breath.

            “We’re going to slip if we keep this up.” She was nearly out of breath from his kisses, but she was right. “And Libra might start to get suspicious.”

            “He’s pretty open for someone who wants to join the priesthood.” Gaius replied, pressing a feather-light kiss to her jaw just so that he could have one more taste of her. “But you’re right. Your conditioner makes everything slippery.” He gave her a playful poke to the ribs then shut off the water, leaving Robin to squeegee out her hair again. He would later admit that yes, he did like the smell of her conditioner and yes, sometimes he used it when she wasn’t there. He liked the way that it made his hair silky soft and manageable. But, that was beside the point.

            At the moment he was cursing the existence of it, as Robin was taking extra care to swing her hips and shake her ass while she dried off, leaving Gaius to tie his towel looser around himself so as to hide the bulge forming under it. The things Robin did to him drove him crazy. She was beautiful and intelligent and had goals and dreams. Everything about her enchanted him—probably had since the time when she nearly fought him for the last of the banana pudding.

            Robin could see him staring. She had a smirk plastered on her face as she wrapped her towel around her and placed her hand on the doorknob. “You coming, or do I have to get your jaw up off the floor myself?” Gaius frowned and began muttering something about saltwater taffy and the importance of the caramel as he followed her out.

            When they reached his room, Robin expected for Gaius to press her up against the door again. After all, she had been teasing him since they got out of the shower. But instead, he was running his towel through his hair in an attempt to get out the remainder of the water clinging to the orange strands. Quite frustrated, Robin hopped onto his bed and sprawled out. Her naked and tan skin contrasted with the deep navy color of the bedspread, but still Gaius seemed preoccupied with other things. Robin frowned and rolled over to the side to see just what he was doing, only to find herself pressed back down against the sheets, his lean form hovering over her.

            His eyes were dark with lust, boring into her as his lips pressed roughly against her own. He nipped at her lower lip, but didn’t stay in one place for long. His mouth and teeth began focusing on her neck, which left the purple-red stain of marks that would bloom into a deeper, wine-rich stain in the morning. Robin let out an audible groan when he sat back. The absence of his mouth on her skin was quite disappointing, but she soon felt the ghostly chill of his breath on her stomach.

            Robin’s legs fell open almost instinctively. The two of him had been here many a time before, as Gaius’ oral fixation didn’t stop at lollipops and jawbreakers. By now it was second nature, feeling his lips flutter and nip from knee to inner thigh before he finally clamped his lips over his prize. A low moan escaped from her throat quite quickly, though it lowered into a whimper when he decided to focus his attention to flicking his tongue up and down her slit. Every so often the muscle would press inside of her—the teasing motion nearly sent her wild already. Her hands were tangled in his hair, gently yanking on the strands that were still damp beneath her fingers.

            He yelped a bit as he felt his cock twitch beneath him, now half-erect just from tasting the sweetness of her warm center. Robin let out a similar moan, swept up by the sensation of Gaius’ teeth scraping against the sensitive flesh. His tongue rolled around it then flicked to a point, which caused her to scream. “Gaius! Gods… _Damnit._ ”

            She hissed through her teeth, as she realized that she had been quite loud and the last she had seen, Libra was sketching in the living room. A blush rose on her face, but it was quickly forgotten when he slipped a nimble digit inside of her. His mouth continued to lick and suck while his finger began pumping in and out of her. Robin lifted a hand to her mouth to bite down on in an attempt muffle the noises that she was making. She didn’t have to worry for long, as Gaius had removed the digit and was teasing her with tantalizingly slow motions up and down her slit.

            “I love making you come apart like this…” Gaius groaned in her ear, nipping on her earlobe as he slipped two fingers back inside of her. He pounded at a fierce pace, causing her to bite down so hard on her hand that she could taste blood.

            “Gaius, I’m…” She cut herself off, the moans coming from her blocking the coherency of her words.

            “Come for me, Bubbles.” He whispered with a low and husky voice. Electricity and fire and ice were combining in her veins, their tingling sting boring through her blood. Her orgasm was sharp and intense, drawn out of her by the skill of his fingers. Picking locks weren’t the only things that they were good for.

            He slipped his fingers out of her and brought them to his mouth, ready to suck her juices off of them when her hand clasped around his wrist. She drew his hand to her mouth and took the digits into her mouth. Robin savored the taste of herself on her tongue, licking him clean before pressing her lips on his. His tongue slipped past her teeth to try to catch another taste, the sweetness of her breath dizzying him with the brand of intoxication only she could give to him. However, she broke away only seconds later and propped herself up on her elbows.

            “How do you want me to take care of you?” Her eyes were locked on his, brown against gray-green in the sharp fluorescent light of the dorm room. “I could… fuck you… Or I could blow you. Or I could stroke you off…” She had a hold on his cock, painfully erect and leaking pre-cum from its tip. Eating her out always aroused him more than he thought it would. It left him open for her attacks of opportunity, each syllable out of her mouth punctuated with a stroke and a twist.

            “Whatever. Just… Ngh…” She flipped him around, pinning his body under hers before taking him in her mouth. “Damnit, Bubbles.” Robin took nearly his full length before gently grasping his balls, allowing more strangled noises to escape from the ginger underneath her. Her tongue swirled around his head before she bobbed back down, working quickly and efficiently.

            She knew just how worked up he was, just how receptive he would be to her touch. His body was like a map, like a battlefield or like a book to study. She knew the hills and valleys and freckles and spots that would make him cry out her name in the same breath as Naga’s. He was more gentle with her hair than she ever was with his. His hands would stroke her, encourage her.

            For someone who had watched bit after bit of his life slip away he handled her like she were feather-light and made of glass. Robin had everything going for her and she would hold onto him like he could float away. Her touch would leave raised red scratches or deep purple fingerprints as she encouraged him to go harder and faster, to fill her with every bit of his essence so that his name was the only thing left on her lips.

            He hissed her name as he came, spilling his hot white seed into her mouth with little warning. She had anticipated it though. She always did. Robin came off of him and swallowed him down before taking a moment to press one last kiss to his lips. “Diner Wars?” She asked, wiping the remaining fluid from the corner of her mouth on the back of her hand.

            Gaius propped himself against the headboard, all of his weight on his elbows as he watched her select one of his shirts to slip over her head. It came down slightly above her knees, which revealed a large amount of the soft thighs he had been between only moments ago. For a moment he wondered if she was a ghost floating through his room, wondered if he had only imagined her touch. But, another kiss pressed to his cheek woke him out of that thought, sending him back to reality.

            “Yeah. Only one though.” He didn’t have to say it. She could see it in his eyes, and she nodded in agreement. It was late and they had tired themselves out, and all that he wanted was to hold her in his arms for just a little while longer. Gaius rose from the bed and got dressed quickly, following Robin out of his room. He had assumed that she would be setting up the TV, but instead found her looking over Libra’s shoulder.

            “Your drawings are amazing, Libra.” She said, flipping through a few pieces of paper in her hands. Gaius could identify a flower, a quick sketch of himself that he had reluctantly agreed to sit for, and a bowl of fruit from where he was standing, though he was more interested in the expression on Robin’s face. She was so friendly and kind, and when she found something that she liked you could see it in her eyes.

            Gaius was curious as to why his roommate was up so late, as he normally went to bed rather early. His hair was disheveled and there was a dark shadow looming under his eyes. He probably had a deadline for some class or another. That was usually the only way to ruffle poor Libra’s feathers.

            “I wouldn’t say amazing. But thank you nonetheless.”

            “Don’t be modest. You’re talented.” Robin paused for a second and looked over to Gaius, a warm smile settling over her face. “You don’t mind if we watch and episode of Diner Wars while you’re in here, do you?”

            “Not at all. Might give me an idea for this sketch. I haven’t had an artist’s block this severe in a long time.” The blonde sighed heavily and twirled his pencil in his hand, though he stopped as soon as Gaius walked past him and planted himself on the couch. Robin followed soon after, curling up against him with her head pressed on his chest. It didn’t take long for their TV watching to turn into napping, though neither could determine who fell asleep first. All Libra could tell was that Gaius had one arm wrapped around her, his hand resting on her lower back, while she held onto his torso whilst using it as a pillow. Gaius’ headband was hanging loosely in front of one of his eyes; Robin’s hair was still damp in places and sprawled out like veins and tributaries of spring-soft rivers in others.

            There was something about the scene that drew the future priest’s eye—the muse he needed for this one last piece for his midterm portfolio. He tapped the end of his pencil against his lower lip and began to sketch in hope that Gaius and Robin wouldn’t mind or move too much.

\--

            Robin wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans before raising her fist to knock on the worn and peeling wood of the door to Maribelle and Lissa’s room. She was hoping for the Ylissian princess rather than Maribelle, even though things had been better between them. The blonde had even started addressing Gaius by his first name, though her conversations with him were usually short exchanges of obligatory _“How are you?”s._ Robin hesitated before finally knocking. The sound echoed behind the door, but soon she was met with Lissa’s kind face. She was still in pajamas, though Robin couldn’t particularly blame her. It was rather early on a Sunday morning, and she had probably just rolled out of bed.

            “Robin?” Lissa asked while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her hair was down from the ever-present pigtails she usually wore, though it was no less wild down than up. “Are you okay?”

            Robin didn’t say a word as she entered the room, walking past the sleeping Maribelle (who was kept blissfully unaware due to the earplugs and sleep mask she was wearing) to sit down on Lissa’s bed. Her head was in her hands; everything around her seemed like a dream—or rather some sort of twisted nightmare. “Robin!”

            Lissa’s tone was stern and loud—loud enough to stir Maribelle from her slumber. Her hair was meticulously pinned up in rollers and she took great care peeling her eye mask up off over them. The earplugs were the last to come out, but the grumpy frown wasn’t budging on her face. “Lissa, darling. There is no need to act like a _brute_.” The formerly sleeping blonde looked over to find Robin sitting on Lissa’s bed, and the frown on her face shifted from one of _somnus interruptus_ to one of genuine concern. “What’s Robin doing here?”

            “I don’t know! She won’t say anything!” Lissa bit down on her thumbnail, trying to wrack her brain for reasons why Robin would burst into her room so early on a Sunday morning. “Are you sick? I don’t think you’re running a temperature…” Still, the blonde pressed her hand to Robin’s forehead to try to discern something—anything from her.

            “I’m not sick, Lissa.” Robin swallowed hard, looking away from her friend. She caught a glimpse of her face in Maribelle’s vanity mirror and immediately cringed. She had just been out for pancakes with Gaius when she had received a phone call from her father; the first one she had gotten in weeks. “You… You haven’t heard anything from the council, have you?”

            “I haven’t been home in a few weeks.” Lissa said with a shrug, and she immediately turned to Maribelle who had the same expression on her face. In fact, she opened her mouth to ask another question when Chrom came in the room, looking similarly distraught.

            “Lissa! Have you heard anything from the council?” He looked at his sister, who looked over at Robin, who looked to Chrom while Maribelle looked on looking more confused than any of them.

            “What is with everyone asking about the council?” Lissa shouted, the noise causing Maribelle to place her earplugs back in. She loved Lissa, but living with her could be _loud_ and she needed her beauty rest. At this point, Chrom still hadn’t noticed Robin sitting there, and she was trying to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room.

            “The council has made a decision regarding Olivia and myself.” Chrom mumbled, and only then did he notice his best friend’s presence. “Robin.”

            “This is a mess, Chrom.”

            “Frederick is trying… Trying to sort things out.”

            “He won’t be able to do anything if my father’s the one heading this.” Lissa and Maribelle exchanged expressions back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on. It was something that both Chrom and Robin knew about, and it involved the council and Frederick and Robin’s _father_?

            “We can’t get married, Robin.” Chrom sighed, and she agreed with a silent nod.

            “Oh, I am in firm agreement, Blue.” Gaius’ nickname for Chrom slipped from her lips quickly and carelessly. Robin placed her head back in her hands and tried to think of all the ways that she could fake her own death so that she wouldn’t have to remain betrothed to Chrom. She couldn’t even contemplate _telling_ Gaius. Robin didn’t think he was the jealous type, but she didn’t need to test it out; lest he decide it would be a good idea to punch out the prince.

            “Married?!” Both Lissa and Maribelle shouted at the same time, looking back and forth between each other with expressions that displayed both fear and disgust.

            “It won’t be until we graduate. There’s time to fix this…” Chrom was grasping at straws while Robin kept pinching herself in some hope that this was one sick joke of a nightmare.

            “You haven’t met my father. He probably has ulterior motives for his ulterior motives for this, Chrom.” She paused for a moment to brush her bangs off of her forehead in a feeble attempt to keep them from sticking to her skin with nervous sweat. “What was the council’s reasoning?”

            “Plegia and Ylisse haven’t been friendly since the last great war. They’re trying to appease the people and make amends.”

            “Don’t they realize that my father will probably have you _murdered_ if we get married? He’d do anything to get his hands on Ylisse.” Her phone began to buzz with a few text messages, though she tried to ignore them.

            “That’s what Frederick is trying to tell them. But if they back out now it may cause even more conflict with Plegia.”

            “Then I will assume my duty as the future tactician of the Halidom of Ylisse and I’ll kick my own father’s ass.” Robin, stubborn as ever, crossed her arms tightly over her chest with a pout clearly drawn on her face. The phone carefully trapped under her thigh vibrated again; once, twice… on the third ring, she picked it up and pressed it to her ear without checking the caller ID. “ _What?_ ”

            “Bubbles? You okay?”

            “Shit. Gaius. Sorry. I thought it was someone else.” Robin let out a loud sigh while the other three occupants of the room exchanged concerned glances. Everyone could see that this was a horrendous plan, both from a political standpoint and from the viewpoint of a decent human being. Chrom and Robin were like brother and sister. Lissa couldn’t imagine them married, but she also couldn’t bear it if this tore them apart. “I’m… No, I’m not okay.”

            Gaius paused on his end of the line, leaving a silence ringing in both of their ears. “Where are you? I’ll bring some of those gummi bears that you like, we’ll watch a bad movie…”

            “Gaius I… I don’t know. I’m sorry I… I would love that. I… I’ll be in my room in like ten minutes.” She let out a pained sigh while Chrom took a seat next to Maribelle, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. A series of wrinkles were blooming on his forehead, though Maribelle didn’t have the heart to scold him about frown lines at the moment.

            “All right, Bubbles.” He paused again, choking on his own words. “I…” he mumbled something else, followed by a goodbye. The phone beeped to signify that the call had ended, and Robin got to her feet. She shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her hoodie, a similar frown on her face.

            “We’re going to figure this out, Chrom. We’re not going to get married.”

            “The backup plan is to send the entire Feroxi army into both Plegia and Ylisse.” Chrom forced a small chuckle, and Robin replied with a similar, equally forced one. The tension was high, even if they were trying their hardest to lighten the mood.

            “Khan Basilio could take my father in a one handed fistfight. Maybe he should be our first option.”

            “Perhaps. You are the tactician, after all.”

            “Perhaps.” She echoed, mumbling a quick goodbye before dashing out the door and braving the cold once more. The sky was grey and cloudy, a few flurries already floating down from the sky to rest in her eyelashes. She tried to blink them away even as they accumulated, and when she returned to her dorm building she was about to thank Naga for the outdated heating system that kept the rooms at a livable temperature.

            Gaius arrived a few minutes later, his hands full of the promised gummi bears as well as the big and fluffy blanket from his bed that he knew she liked. “You ordered the deluxe cheer up package?” he asked. He took a moment to place the items down on a clear spot of the kitchen table before wrapping Robin in his arms. It didn’t take long for her to burrow her face into his chest as she held back a few sobs. All of her fears were coming true—her father always had to find some way to meddle in her life. A year ago, maybe she wouldn’t have been as upset. Chrom was her best friend and she was his. But a lot had changed in a year. Chrom loved Olivia, and Robin…

            “Bubbles?” Gaius asked, his hand stroking the back of her head while she muffled her cries into his hoodie. She didn’t respond, and she didn’t really need to. There wasn’t anything that she could say that would make things better. She would either end up upsetting Gaius or upsetting herself, so she kept her mouth shut. Still, he held her close and kissed the top of her head. “Hey. Don’t cry. I love you too much to let you cry.”

            Robin pulled her head away from his chest for long enough to figure out that she hadn’t misheard him. “Love me?” She seemed confused, which in turn made Gaius rather nervous. He let go of her, covering his mouth with his hand while trying to figure out what to say. A sigh escaped her lips, her hand reached out to try to remove his from his face. “I… Gaius.”

            “You don’t have to—“ She cut him off with a kiss, even as tears welled in her eyes again.

            “How many times have I told you that you’re a doofus. I love you too.” A dopey smile grew on Gaius’ face, though Robin’s was still tear-streaked even through her grin. It didn’t take long for him to regain his embrace with her, though he was still concerned as to why she was crying. She wasn’t talking, so he wasn’t going to pry. His hand reached out to grasp the blanket, and he drew it around her shoulders to engulf her in the fluffy fabric. She looked a lot smaller while wrapped up, dwarfed by the massive blanket, but that was part of the magic of that particular blanket. It could make anyone feel like they were four years old on a snow day again.

            “You don’t have snow in Plegia, do you?” Gaius asked, and Robin shook her head.

            “No. But they have a whole of it in Chon’sin. Though not as much as in Ferox, I suppose. I spent most of my childhood there in Valm, remember?”

            “Right. But you still complain about how cold it is here.” Gaius teased her before pressing another kiss to her forehead, then one to her lips.

            “That’s because it is cold here. But… let’s go start the movie.”

            “Of course.” He ruffled her hair and followed her to her room, popping a disc in her DVD player before joining her in her bed. Robin was already a handful into the candy, her lips stained red from her preferential flavor. “I don’t want you to cry.”

            “I don’t particularly want to be crying.” She took a deep sigh as the movie began, an image fading into the screen from the stark black. “But I’m going to make this work.”

            “Make what work?” For a moment, Robin sucked in a sharp breath and held it. She and Gaius had an unspoken honesty policy, which umbrella-ed everything from admitting that Gaius didn’t like shrimp or that she wasn’t in the mood to have sex because she ate a huge burrito for lunch and was bloated as hell. Tiptoeing and secrecy wasn’t a thing with them. She would tell him.

            “Let’s watch this. Let’s just watch this and ask me tomorrow.” Robin let out a sigh, which deeply concerned Gaius. “Please. Just this one thing.” He nodded and held her closer to him, allowing her to bask in the warmth of his body. Gaius was who she wanted to be with, not Chrom. And even though marriage was the furthest thing in her mind in regards to her hopes and dreams, if she had to pick between the two right at this moment then Chrom wouldn’t be her choice. It was Gaius. Sweet-toothed, former delinquent, stupidly suave _Gaius_.

            Gaius had always taken her presence for granted. Even when his life was historically known to be a shitshow of people leaving when they were supposed to stay, he never worried about Robin. He held her hand as he kissed her neck, his eyes glued to the screen as he thought that maybe now just his faith wouldn’t be enough.

\--

            Robin was exhausted as she continued beating her fists against the punching bag, the bones in her fingers screaming and probably bruised from the lack of care she was putting in to her form and focus. She was in the mini-gym without Frederick, who was still in Ylissitol trying to work things out between the council of Ylisse and the nobles of Plegia, who always corrected her and kept her from overexerting herself. There were no pauses between her punches, and as she threw her last one she hissed in pain. A steady stream of blood was trickling from her knuckles and sending its blooming stain into the wraps on her hands. A sharp stinging sensation rose from the ripped-up flesh, making Robin grumble while she rifled through her bag to find something to stop the bleeding.

            She was about to give up on her search when the door clicked open, and part of her expected Frederick to be there. He would scold her for her improper punches, which was what obviously led to the swollen and bloody mess on her hands, but ultimately make her feel a little bit better about what was going on. Frederick the Wary. Part knight, part butler, part older brother, and part therapist. But, instead of Frederick she looked up to find Olivia. Robin frowned in confusion, tilting her head to the side while the other pink-haired girl came up to her friend. “How did you know I was here?” Robin asked, and Olivia just sighed.

            “Tharja.” They both said at the same time, and Robin’s confusion and surprise went away. Her roommate almost always knew where she was, though Robin hadn’t figured out if it was part of Tharja’s sixth sense or if the girl was just stalking her.

            “Yes… Oh goodness. Robin, what did you do to your hand?” Olivia used a gentle nudge to bring it close to her, inspecting the wounds. She paused for a moment to dig a small first-aid kit out of her bag, letting the plastic clatter against the cold gym floor. Olivia was used to sports injuries; she was a dancer after all. There had been shows that she was in where she would come off of a dance to find her feet nearly bleeding through her toe shoes, and the only thing she could do was patch them up in time for the next scene. She pulled out a small can of saline spray and used it to clean up the majority of the blood, before wrapping her wound and giving her a small and sad smile.

            “We’re really in a mess, aren’t we?” Robin asked, pulling her injured hand closer to her body like a wounded dog. Olivia was silent, though she gave a small nod while a few tears threatened to burst forth from her eyes. There was an unspoken guilt between them: Robin had introduced Olivia to Chrom and Olivia had encouraged Robin to go after Gaius. Now they were tangled up in the most convoluted game where everything was going wrong and their whole world was being flipped upside down. “Olivia, how on Earth are we going to fix this?”

            “Not by punching things until you bleed.” Olivia was right, though Robin didn’t want to admit it. “Have you told Gaius yet?”

            “Yeah.” Robin’s voice dropped to a whisper, and the fingertips of her uninjured hand instinctively crept up to rest upon her lips.

            They had watched the movie and ate their way through more bags of gummi bears than should have been humanly possible when he finally got up the courage to ask again. She had broken down into tears, sobbing out the news while begging him not to do anything stupid. He had gotten quiet, holding her and kissing away her tears while he tried to think of something—anything to say.

            “I did.” Robin watched as Olivia leaned back against the mirror, her smooth Feroxi skin leaving a shadow of a fog on the frigid glass. She looked at Robin expectantly, hoping for the second part of the statement, but nothing came. Her wrapped-up hand was stiff and sore, though the physical pain was distracting her slightly from the emotional pain. “He’s not happy about it but he hasn’t tried to stab Chrom yet so I think we’re okay. Though it’s only a matter of time if Frederick doesn’t bring some news back soon.”

            “Lissa said you suggested that we send Khan Basilio to take care of it.”

            “And he would, if it wouldn’t cause a diplomatic nightmare.” Olivia giggled at Robin’s joke. The image of her surrogate father popped into her head, storming Ylissitol with his axe in one hand and the Feroxi flag in the other. Actually, she wouldn’t put it past him. Flavia was never far off the mark when she called him an old oaf. But still, short of inciting a tri-nation riot there wasn’t much that they could do.

            “Is that why you’re punching things?” Olivia put her hand on her friend’s knee, though she didn’t need a response to know the answer to the question. Robin looked at Olivia, taking a moment to pick out all the similarities between them. Their faces were different, and Robin’s skin was more gray-tinged than Olivia’s, but their hair was nearly the same color and texture. For a moment, Robin remembered the time that Vaike had decided to braid their hair together when they had decided to take a quick catnap before they hit the midnight premiere of a movie that they had all wanted to see. It had taken way too long to untangle the mess, as no one was quite sure where one hair started and another began. “Robin…”

            “It’s just not fair, Olivia. I finally get away from my father and he manages to mess something else up.”

            “No.” Olivia said, her voice louder and sterner than Robin had _ever_ heard her be. “No, Robin. I’m not going to let him.” She stood up from her spot and squared her shoulders to the punching bag, giving it a rowdy and formidable look. Robin watched as the dancer reared her fist back, striking the bag with an immense force. There was a pause—a split second hesitation before they both noticed that Olivia’s knuckles now looked similar to Robin’s. A few more drops of blood trickled to the floor, followed by the sound of Olivia hissing curses under her breath. When she got going, she could swear like a sailor. It was probably part of Basilio’s influence, but Robin found it endearing all the same.

            “I hope we’re not going to fist fight them.” Robin said with a sigh, removing Olivia’s first-aid kid from her bag in order to patch the other girl’s hand up. “I don’t think it’s our thing.” Once they were both sporting matching bandages, Robin pulled herself to her feet and helped Olivia to hers as well, even though she didn’t need the assistance.

            “All we can do is wait…” Olivia said, pressing her index finger to her lips to try to think of something, _anything_ that they could do to fix the situation from where they were.

            “Unfortunately, Patience is a virtue I don’t have an excess of.” Robin had her hand on the doorknob, waiting for Olivia to follow her. However, she was still standing in the middle of the mini-gym, staring at herself in the mirror. “Come on. Chrom’s probably worried about you.”

            “Chrom’s probably drunk and blubbering to Vaike and Stahl.” Olivia replied, though she did follow Robin into the hall. It was true. Chrom was the biggest crybaby of Ylisse, and if he wasn’t currently sobbing at someone then it was almost certain that the world was coming to an end. “But I’ll probably check in on him anyway.”

            “Good plan. I’m going to hit the books.”

            “No Gaius?” Olivia tilted her head to the side, as she was deeply worried about her friend. Gaius and Robin were near inseparable, and she was worried that this bump in the road was pulling them apart.

            “He usually sits on my bed and looks pretty while I work with my integrals.” Robin cracked a small smile, then let out a sigh. “Let me know how he is.”

            “Will do.” Olivia gave a small wave before heading down the hallway, leaving Robin tired and sad and alone.

\--

            Gaius heard a knock echo on his door, though he couldn’t be arsed to even attempt to rise out of bed. He was splayed out on the mattress, his hands resting under his head so that his elbows stuck out at odd angles while one awkwardly pressed against the staccato plaster of the wall. It was a dangerous game that he was playing—a sudden movement could rip a chunk of skin off of his elbow just from the sheer asperity of the paint beside him.

            Still, he was listening. He could hear Libra’s voice, calming and quiet as he let in whoever was at the door. Gaius assumed it was a friend of Libra’s, or their RA, or someone along those lines. He wasn’t expecting a second knock on his bedroom door, nor the face that popped out from behind the crack in it. He sat up quickly, raking the skin of his elbow against the sandpaper-like hills and valleys of the wall. A few drips of blood bubbled up at the freshly torn flesh, though Gaius shrugged it off and pushed himself up to a sit. “Bubbles? What are you doing here?”

            “I texted you.” She said as she dropped her backpack onto the floor, freeing her hands so that she could pull herself up onto Gaius’ bed. Robin placed her head in the crook of Gaius’ neck, wasting no time settling back into his embrace. “You’re bleeding.”

            “So are you.” He motioned to her bandaged-up knuckles; the white gauze seeped and stiffened with her own rusty stain. Robin was immediately defensive, using the sleeve of her hoodie to cover the afflicted area before Gaius could look any closer.

            “You should see the other guy.” Robin said with a forced chuckle, though Gaius knew that the “other guy” was likely a vinyl bag filled with sand. Still, he drew her injured fist to his lips and left feather-light kisses over the marks.

            “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, but Robin remained silent. There wasn’t much left to talk about. It was all a matter of waiting and guessing and swallowing down the anxiety before it swallowed them both whole. Truth be told, he had been having his own share of anxieties. His childhood hadn’t been the most stable; his life full of people constantly running in and out of his life with ulterior motives and their own agendas. Robin was different. She was the first stable thing that he was sure he had, besides a constant stash of partially filched candies, and now because of whose DNA she happened to have half of everything could slip away.

            He didn’t blame Blue. After all he was just as swept up in the madness as Gaius was. But out of everyone in this mess he had the most to lose. Chrom was a prince, Robin a princess. Even Olivia had a high social standing and Gaius had _nothing_. He had a deadbeat dad and a drunk for a mom; the only reason he was able to attend the university was because he managed to score a scholarship by the skin of his teeth. Most of his friends were thugs and petty criminals and delinquents of assorted varieties. The idea of _not_ having Robin made him feel like his chest was caving in. Especially since Robin opposed the arrangement just as much as he did. Seeing her hurting pained him, though at this point there wasn’t much that he could do.

            Robin rolled over and looked deep into Gaius’ eyes. Her index finger wandered to his face, brushing down the bridge of his nose until it rested at the tip. She could see all the freckles polka-dotted on his face; an ocean of constellations written on his skin like a secret just for her. He looked her over, the warmth in her face and the sharpness of her cheeks. He was entranced by her. Like a sailor drawn to a siren, he knew that she would be the death of him. Robin leaned in and kissed him, her lips soft against his own. Her breath was like a prayer on the wind, begging him to stay. “Gaius?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she broke away.

            “Hm?” He cocked his head to the side, trying to discern what she would say before she said it. 

            “I love you.” The words warmed him to his very core, even though they were sleepy and soft and muffled deep into the material of his t-shirt. She loved him, and that was what mattered. Not the days he spent in juvie or the nights he spent taking care of his mother when she should have been taking care of him. Her embrace was his home, her voice music to his ears.

            “I love you too, Bubbles.”

\--

**Author's Note:**

> Just some quick clarifications. 
> 
> The dorm rooms inhabited by Gaius and Robin are two room suite styles, with a small common area and a bathroom to share. I chose this layout A) Because it was the one I was pretty familiar with my first year in college and B) because I didn't particularly want to pick out 3 roommates for each of the characters. One suffices nicely. The room that Lissa and Maribelle share is a traditional style dorm, with two beds in one room and a floor bathroom. The building that they live in is based on a certain residence hall at my university, which is the reason for that style of room. 
> 
> If you like what you read, leave some kudos. I love comments as well, and you can always reach me on tumblr. My URL is Safraninflare.tumblr.com


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